A Familiar Dream
by labyrinthfaerie
Summary: 20 year old Sarah Williams is confused and uncertain about her future. Her only escape from the real world are occasional visits from her old friends of the Underground. Until one day Sarah makes a thoughtless wish and finds herself back in the Labyrinth. But not everyone is happy that Sarah Williams has returned to the Underground. Especially not the King, she once defeated...
1. Prologue

_Time had no meaning here._

It was a legend, a myth, nothing of great importance. Enchanting music, filled with the sweet-, and bitterness of sorrowed love, made her heart ache from loneliness as she desperately tried to navigate her way through the large crowd of masked humanoid creatures. She had been to this ball, and she had worn this gown, once before - many, many years ago in a dream. She found that nothing aside of herself had changed here since then. Sarah had grown only a little taller over the last five years but her slender waist was far more visible now, as was her bosom, and the shape of her face didn't bear the roundness of a child anymore but the angularity of a young woman. Sarah's beauty stood out from the rest of the attendants which drew lots of odd, interested glances at her. It began to make her feel uncomfortable.

They looked at her if she was an amusing plaything and a delicious feast. Even though Sarah could see the impatience in their mocking grins, not one of them dared to approach or touch her. It was a silent rule they had to obey. She wasn't their prey to hunt. After being unable to find an exit from the uncanny ballroom and wandering amidst the eerie beings for quite some time, Sarah paused in the middle of the dance floor for she had caught a quick glimpse of untamed, light-blond hair with blue wisps, from the corner of her green eyes. He was playing hide-and-seek with her. Again.

"You're so frustratingly dramatic," she whispered, hoping he could hear her. And he did.

Sarah knew he was standing behind her as soon as she inhaled the intoxicating scent of sweet osmanthus and pomegranate. She closed her eyes, reflexively bathing her senses in his odour. Images of tranquil, summery afternoons appeared before her inner eyes. The warmth of the sun on her skin was almost palpable and a feeling of pure bliss overran her like a large wave. It was only then, feeling the touch of his gloved hands on her bare shoulders, that she returned from her trance-like state. Shuddering, Sarah tried to escape his touch but he softly tightened his grip around her shoulders and pulled her back against his chest.

The other guests seemed not to care about this odd scenery. And why would they? This was none of their business as they were neither main leads nor had their role any importance aside of adding a certain touch of otherworldliness and danger to the atmosphere. Sarah's stomach drove a rollercoaster and her heart beat frantically when his breath ghosted over her neck and his lips almost touched her skin.

 _"I know I am," he whispered._

Sarah froze. Goosebumps spread all over her arms. This was a dream, this had to be a dream. He repeatedly mumbled her name in a wistful voice. Even though every part of her body begged her to succumb to his seduction, her mind was too prideful to make it as easy as that for him and therefore forced her to gather all available strength to break away from the grip of this supernatural being.

When she managed to do so and finally stood before him, she faltered. There were many words ghosting through her mind, some of them even touched the tip of her tongue, but Sarah couldn't put them into proper words. There he was. The Goblin King, just as she had remembered him:

Tall, slim with wild tousled hair and blue eyes, one pupil constantly more dilated than the other, dressed in the same attire he had already worn the last time they encountered each other at this ball. His expression was indecipherable at first but the right corner of his mouth slowly lifted into a smugly, wry grin exposing his amusement about the situation, most of all, her reaction. Sarah didn't speak a word but the question, which was busy currently tormenting her mind, burned visibly in her eyes.

"One advantage of growing up is the possibility of being able to fully experience the ardours of bodily love, my dear," he answered her question charmingly as if he had just read her thoughts. He was obviously very pleased with the fact that he seemed to arouse her.

Sarah gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, taking a step back. "In your dreams, Goblin King."

He closed the gap between them. This time she remained on the spot, rebelling against the urge to take another step away from him and hated that she could feel her face grow fevery hot. A small voice inside her begged her to allow herself to be lulled in a false sense of security.

'This is a dream, you can do anything you want without there being any consequences,' it whispered. Sarah almost laughed bitterly about this lie. It would've been easy to believe it and indulge to his invitation. After all, it was only a dream, right? But the past reminded her that nothing was what it seemed with him and there was still the possibility that this could be no ordinary dream but something spun by his magic.

"Sarah…" The way he said her name turned her legs into pudding. She let him place his hand on her waist. With the other he took her hand. One dance couldn't hurt, would it? She expected him to make an arrogant remark about her last sentence but to her great surprise, he didn't. His expression was sincere as he whispered: "I've missed you."

Her heart jumped. "You did?"

'I just doomed myself', she thought.

The Goblin King started moving with her smoothly to the rhythm of the music. "Indeed, I did. May I assume the chance stands that you've missed me, too?" There was a hopeful tone in his voice.

Sarah sighed. "Maybe," she murmured with reddened cheeks,avoiding his eyes. Honestly it wasn't that she had yearned for him but there was always a thought, in the back of her mind, that wondered how he was doing. The Goblin King grinned, exposing his sharpened, white teeth.

"Hear ye, hear ye Sarah Williams missed me," he teased.

She groaned. "I never said I did. I simply admitted that there might be a chance I did," she corrected him.

"That's enough for me. At least for now."

Together they glided over the marble dancefloor, looking like an honourable prince and his princess from a fairytale. Sarah was this close to give up her inner battle against him, at least for the duration of this dance. Her being in his arms felt so unexplainably right and she couldn't help herself but to wonder how their story would've evolved had they met under different circumstances at a different time in her life. Sarah wasn't the person anymore, she had been five years ago. Sure, the vital elements of her character had remained but her view on life and, most importantly, love had changed over time. What if he had changed, too?

She found herself wishing that this encounter wasn't a dream.

"For now?" she was about to ask but suddenly the music died and the Goblin King stopped in his movement.

"What's happening?" Sarah whispered in surprise. He didn't reply, instead planted a kiss on the back of her hand like the noble gentleman, he wasn't. There was a familiar voice calling her name from somewhere far, far away. Sarah didn't want to hear it but it became inevitable to ignore and then she knew, and he saw that she knew, who it was.

"You're waking up," he explained.

The world around them started to shake and swirl. Sarah stumbled into his open arms. The ball guests screamed in terror before vanishing back into a cloud of grey dust. And then it happened: the ballroom broke into million shatters of tiny glass splinters and the ground beneath their feet disappeared into a dark abyss. He kept standing in the air as if it was nothing for him, holding her in his arms. Sarah half-heartedly hoped he would continue to hold her as he had once promised "as the world falls down".

But his eyes darkened and all the affection he had for her seemed to have vanished within a blink. There was a cruel, mocking smile on his lips as he said:

"Oh, poor, poor Sarah. How naïve you are."

Then he let go of her and Sarah fell into the black nothingness beneath her, screaming the air out of her lungs. She fell and fell, admits the glass splinters, like little Alice down the rabbit hole, and the last thing she felt before she woke up was the hurting brokenness of her own heart.


	2. Chapter 1

_"Sarah?"_

"Jareth!" She jolted awake just when she was close to hitting the ground of the abyss, nearly falling off her bed in the real world. Sarah's sudden energetic awakening gave her little brother Toby, who had been trying to wake her up for the last five minutes, a small scare.

"Sarah, are you okay?" he asked worried, climbed onto the bed and took her hand.

His sister's face was pale from fright and her mind only slowly adapted to the sudden change of worlds. As she finally had managed to calm her racing heart a little, her green eyes met his baby blue ones. Sarah saw the concern in them and felt guilty for unintentionally upsetting her brother.

"Y-Yes, Toby. I'm fine, sorry, I didn't want to frighten you." She pulled him into a big, warm hug and ruffled through his blond locks.

"Did you have a bad dream again?" The six year old asked caringly.

"Yes," she sighed. "It wasn't bad in the beginning, though."

Sarah remembered the enchanting music, the strangeness of the otherworldly masks and especially the butterflies in her stomach when he held her ins arms.

Too soon though the memory of his cold eyes and cruel smile returned.

"You sleep well last night?" she asked her brother to avoid further talking about herself.

Toby nodded excitedly with a big grin that exposed his missing front tooth.

"I dreamed that little monsters came to my school and beat up Billy Bishop. After that we went on my ship and sailed to the next island to eat some ice cream!"

"Little monsters?" Sarah lifed an eyebrow. That sounded strange. Did Toby watch that cartoon, which he wasn't supposed to watch, again? "And why are you so happy that they beat up Billy Bishop? I thought you liked that kid."

Billy Bishop was a boy around Toby's age from the neighbourhood. Toby released himself from his sister's embrace and stood up on the bed.

"Not anymore. He's a villain and I'm a hero!" he explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sarah crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow. "Why is he a villain?"

Toby looked at his toes. "He's mean to everyone, that's why."

"To you, too?"

Simply the thought that someone could intentionally hurt her brother managed to make her blood boil and forget all about her own problems.

"Everyone. But I don't care about myself. He couldn't hurt me even if he tried," Toby declared profoundly convinced and held his arms akimbo.

Sarah couldn't but smile. He really looked like a small hero in this position.

"Why? Because of your super-powers?" she joked and winked.

"No! Well, a little but -"

Toby looked left and right, checking if someone was listening to their conversation. Then he whispered: "The little monsters would hurt him, if he tried."

Little monsters… A suspicion grew in Sarah's stomach and she didn't like it at all. "Those...little monsters what are they?"

"You believe me that they're real?" He started jumping on her bed, beamed with joy.

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?"

Sarah had fought her way through a magical maze, guided by a noble fox, a cowardice dwarf and a furry monster that can summon rocks, owned by a dramatic, villainous King, whose greatest hobby appears to be stealing babies with his goblin subjects.

What was left in the world that she couldn't believe in?

"Momma said that they're not real," Toby mumbled, obviously downcast.

Sarah took his hands with an enthusiastic smile. "If you can see them, then they're real. Now, Toby, do tell me what do they look like!"

Toby opened his mouth to speak but suddenly an all too familiar voice interrupted:

"Ah, so Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken as it seems."

Irene Williams stood in the doorframe with crossed arms, already in her business outfit. A white blouse, a black skirt and black high-heels. Only her blond hair was still unstyled. Sarah pursed her lips, hoping that her stepmother hadn't earwigged their conversation.

"Momma!"

Toby happily jumped from his sister's bed and ran into her arms. Irene embraced her son and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

Then she noticed: "Wait, you're still in your pyjamas! Hush into your room and get dressed. We don't want to you to arrive too late for school, young man!"

Toby sighed torn. "But Momma, the little monsters told me that I don't have to wear anything for school," he opposed.

Irene closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to gather enough nerve and patience for this discussion. She crouched down to be on his eye level, her voice amazingly calm as she said: "Toby, how many times do I have to tell you that there are no little monsters? Now get dressed."

But Toby didn't want to. He couldn't understand why his mother tried to twist his truth into a lie. The six year old stomped his foot on the ground.

"Sarah believes me," he threw at his mother's head like an insult. His voice was filled with disappointment and anger.

Irene shot a dark glance at Sarah, who got up from the bed. The young woman couldn't have cared any less about that. The relationship with her stepmother had never been the greatest and Sarah was certain that it would probably never change. Their personalities and opinions were just too different for them to get along.

"Come, Toby," Sarah put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "I'm sure the little monsters are gone at the moment and certainly they won't mind you wearing clothes for school."

Toby looked at her with big eyes. "But where would they have gone to? They live here!"

"Back to the Underground, of course," escaped her tongue quickly. It wasn't really a lie. If they were goblins, as she sort of already expected them to be (what else would haunt their lives if not those creatures?) their home was either the Goblin City or the castle beyond.

Irene drew herself back up and looked from Sarah to Toby and then to her expensive-looking watch.

"Will you get him dressed and take him to school?" she requested, now suddenly in an awfully big hurry.

Sarah didn't mind. She had a day off from work today and besides: it was a good distraction to keep her from thinking about the nightmare. _AND_ she could buy some cake in the bakery, on her way home, for an eventual visit from her friends.

So Sarah agreed, receiving a quick thankful glance from Irene before she kissed her son on the forehead and sprinted off to the bathroom to do her hair. Toby took his sister's hand and the two of them strolled over to his bedroom.

"Sarah? Can I ask you something?" the six year old asked innocently.

"You just did." Sarah grinned and earned a groan from him. "But sure. What's the matter?"

Toby stopped before his closed door, throwing a curious glance at her.

 _"Who's Jareth?"_

* * *

"How do you-?" Then she remembered having exclaimed his name when waking up earlier. The young woman stared at her brother, trying to gather the right words.

She became nervous. How should she explain to Toby that Jareth was the King, who had kidnapped him five years ago due to her selfish, thoughtless mistake of wishing him away?

And, most importantly: how would Toby react to hearing that his beloved sister had wanted him gone?

 _He'll hate you._

No, she couldn't tell him. Absolutely not.

"He's, uh, someone from work," she lied.

"Oh," Toby was disappointed. "I thought he was the fairy you drew in your sketchbook…"

"No, that's-...Well he isn't a fairy, I think...Hey! What were you doing looking through my sketchbook without my consent?"

Toby pursed his lips. He knew he shouldn't have admitted that to her.

"I-It lay open on your desk while you were showering and I just…I wanted to see your drawings…"

He folded his hands behind his back, looked at his bare feet and began tapping his toes.

"I told you not to touch my stuff unless I allow it to you," Sarah said.

"I'm sorry," Toby apologised rueful.

She sighed, crossing her arms before her chest. She could never stay mad at him. Especially when he made those puppy eyes.

"You mean it?" she asked playfully sceptic, lifting one eyebrow.

Her brother nodded with a still lowered head in shame.

"Alright then," Sarah cleared her throat and declared dramatically, "I hereby forgive you, Sir Toby."

"Yay! Okay! So who is the fairy you drew in your sketchbook?"

The question escaped his lips extremely fast with a big smile on his face. The small argument, if one could even call it that, seemed forgotten within a second.

"Have a wonderful day you two!" The two heard Irene shout from downstairs. "Oh and Sarah there's still leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry! Bye!" They heard the front door being closed.

Quickly Sarah shoved Toby into his room, avoiding his question on purpose. "Alright, now we're going to get you clothed and to school."

Toby whined. "But what about the fairy? And the little monsters? Sarah, tell me who the fairy is!" he demanded pouting and clenched his little fists. When noticing that this didn't have an effect on his sister, he used all his strength to oppose her and made it impossible for Sarah to move him even an inch without somehow ending up hurting him.

"Toby, get dressed! Come on, you're going to be late!" She was slowly losing her nerves.

"You're not dressed yet, too! And I want to know about the fairy!" he insisted.

She groaned. "There's nothing to tell about the fairy! I don't even know if he's a fairy!"

Toby couldn't understand why his sister was throwing such a fuss over a drawn fairy. There was something fishy about the whole subject, he could feel it.

"No, you're lying! Tell me everything!" he proceeded to whinge.

Helplessly, Sarah glanced at the Mickey Mouse clock over her brother's bedroom door. Even though she wasn't eager, they still had enough time for a little storytelling.

"Will you get dressed properly if I tell you about him?" she negotiated.

"I promise!" Toby crossed his heart.

Sarah sat down on his bed with a big sigh. She didn't really know how to start. As she looked to her right she noticed the teddy bear Lancelot, which had once belonged to her and now did to her brother, sitting next to her on Toby's pillow. She took it in her hands, remembering the long nights when this bear seemed to be the only friend, who truly cared for her. Its soft fur somewhat helped her sort her thoughts.

"Once upon a time there was a princess, who took everything for granted and made a very foolish mistake," she began. It was a good way to start a story, she thought. Toby sat down on the carpet, cross-legged, watching Sarah with widened eyes.

"What foolish mistake?" he interrupted her curiously. Sarah didn't answer his question and continued:

"The princess was very lonely and felt completely misunderstood by the world. Her wicked Stepmother gave her an awful lot of chores and always made her watch over her baby brother. She made the girl become practically a slave,"

"So like Cinderella?" Toby asked.

Sarah nodded. "Just like Cinderella. And one night, when the King, her father, and her wicked stepmother left the castle and she was to watch over the baby again…he wouldn't stop screaming. Oh, the girl was so angry and frustrated… But what no one knew was that the King of the goblins had watched the girl and had fallen in love with her and," she raised her voice dramatically "had given her certain powers."

Toby gasped for air. "But why did the King of the goblins fall in love with the princess? Did they meet before? And why did the princess have to watch the baby and do the chores? Didn't they have servants?" he wanted to know.

"No more interruptions or I'll stop telling you the story," Sarah warned. Instantly Toby turned silent.

The brunette harrumphed and continued: "She could always call for the goblins should she need their help. She just had to use the right words and they'd take the baby to the Goblin City forever. There it would become a goblin just like them and the princess would be free again. But she had compassion and still felt a great love for her brother and therefore she didn't do it … Until that very night came."

The blurry images of the past overwhelmed her. God, how quickly the years had passed. She was so naïve back then, unable to see the true magic behind simple words.

"She called for the goblins and their King appeared, as he had promised, offering her the fulfilments of her dreams if only she forgot about her baby brother. But the princess realised she had made a mistake and begged him for mercy. So the King gave her 13 hours to solve his magical labyrinth and to reach the castle beyond the Goblin City. If she'd reach the castle in time, she'd win her brother back and they could return home. But should she lose the game, she'd be forced to forget all about him and wander the Labyrinth forever while her brother's fate would be to turn into a goblin."

Now Toby couldn't stay quiet any longer: "Did the princess win?" he asked nervously.

Sarah smiled contently. Yes, yes she had won. Him sitting here on the carpet in his blue pyjamas, ready to go to school, was the living proof. She nodded and Toby sighed relieved.

"So the fairy you drew is that King?" he concluded. Sarah nodded again, looking absent-mindedly into Lancelot's black button eyes.

Awaking after yet another nightmare that had involved 'him', Sarah had jumped out of bed to sketch the clear, vivid image from the dream. Her hands were almost moving on their own that night, she remembered. The result was a nearly perfect portrait of her old nemesis. But was he really still her nemesis? This question conflicted her.

Toby couldn't stop thinking about the story. "What happened to him after she won? I mean, the King loved the princess, didn't he? He must have been heartbroken..."

Sarah had no idea what happened with him after their last encounter and she didn't know what Jareth was doing nowadays. Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo visited her often and sure, they shared a lot of news of the Labyrinth but they never talked about the Goblin King and Sarah never asked. Of course she had wondered, every now and then, how he was. If he was fine, healthy, _not dead yet_. But not more. No. Not more.

 _'It is for the better'_ , a feeling whispered to her. Her heart knew it was a lie.

"I don't think he really loved her." Sarah was surprised how sad her voice sounded. "Maybe he liked what he saw in her from the outside but he never really got to know her good enough for me to see a reason why he would've loved her the way he pretended to do."

Toby frowned. "But if he only had 13 hours with her, how could he have known her better?" he countered. Sarah didn't answer.

"Enough storytelling," she decided and stood up from the bed, Lancelot still in her hands. "You have your answer, now get ready for school and no further arguing. Remember, you crossed your heart!"

Her brother held his promise though he begged Sarah to stay 'till he had checked the closet for unwanted monsters. Sarah planned to search for those creatures later with her friends. If it really were goblins it was needless to say she highly disliked the thought of them being in her brother's bedroom, let alone his life.

Sarah hurried to put some clothes on, brushed her teeth and applied a little make-up. She took Lancelot with her to her room. Surely Toby wouldn't mind if she'd keep him with her for the day. Only ten minutes later, brother and sister were on their way to the _'St. Charles'_ elementary school.

* * *

"You have all your books?" Sarah checked as they had reached the school building.

"Yup."

"You've got your lunch?"

"Yup, Yup."

"All your homework done?"

Toby threw an annoyed glance at her. "Sarah, you're sounding like our mom."

Sarah frowned. " _Your_ mom," she corrected him and crossed her arms, "and I do absolutely not sound like her."

Toby rolled his eyes. "Yes you do," he teased her, grinning. He knew fully well that Sarah disliked being compared to Irene. "You even pose like her when she's angry."

Instantly Sarah changed her pose and leaned against the entrance gate of the school. "I do not. What's your first class today?"

"English with Mr. Bart. He's boring and not even yellow like the one from TV," Toby complained.

How glad Sarah was to be done with school already. But then again, she'd love to have some more time thinking about her future career because currently it was running mercilessly away from her...

"What a pity. Why don't you imagine him being yellow? Maybe that'll make it better?" Sarah suggested.

Toby shook his head. "I already tried that but it didn't work. Sarah?"

"Mh?"

He came close to her ear and whispered: "You asked what the little monsters looked like, this morning."

She nodded, thinking he'd give her a detailed description but Toby simply pointed at a tree on the opposite street and said: "That's what they look like."

Three, very ugly goblins, were sitting in a tree fighting each other over a lump of bread. One of them pulled the other by the only two strands of hair on their head while the other kicked the two from the tree, triumphantly holding the bread over his head like Rafiki from The Lion King, and laughing like a maniac.

Sarah turned away quickly. She didn't want them to notice her being able to see them. It was bad enough that they knew Toby was able to see them, whyever.

'So it is goblins,' she thought shocked. Goblins meant ... She looked around, searching for a certain Goblin King disguised as a harmless-seeming barn owl. But there was no owl and no man that looked even familiar to his appearance.

Toby noticed that his sister's sudden tenseness. "Are they dangerous?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know. I have no clue why they're here so please stay away from them, alright?"

Toby nodded. "What ... are they, Sarah?"

Sarah ruffled through her brother's hair. "Goblins."

The boy couldn't hide his excitement any longer. "Goblins!? Really?"

As quickly as possible Sarah covered his mouth. "Not so loud or they'll hear you!"

In this very moment the school bell announced the start of classes and Toby ran into Sarah's arms.

"If you pick me up after school we can go search for them together!"

Actually it was Irene's job to do so and Sarah didn't want to endanger Toby by searching for the Goblins but Sarah melted, once again, at his puppy eyes and agreed. Happily, Toby waved at her one last time before entering the school building with some of his classmates.

Once he was out of sight Sarah's expression grew serious again and she begged herself not to shot another glance at the goblins. She lost the inner fight. They were still there. The two, who had been kicked down from the tree, attempted to climb up again and shouted vile curses at the third, who was busy eating the bread.

* * *

Sarah was standing in the waiting queue at the bakery, to buy the cakes for later, when her phone vibrated in her jeans pocket. It was Jeremy, her mother's old friend and colleague. A lump grew in her throat. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. The main one was: _should she answer it?_

Gosh, how long had it been since they talked last time? Sarah hadn't replied to any his E-Mails or calls. Would he be mad at her? He certainly had been confused, just like everybody else, when Sarah announced her decision to quit drama school, half a year ago. But unlike others, Jeremy had tried to convince her to continue.

Well, he had failed. And now Sarah was back at home, jobbing in the supermarket around the corner, not knowing where to go from there. Before she could think, her body slipped already out of the queue and took the call. Jeremy's rich, warm voice when he said her name, soothed all the fears she had held about this conversation.

"H-Hey, Jer," she stuttered.

"Sarah," he repeated her name. Now it sounded more like a sigh, "How are you, sweetheart?"

She tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. "Fine, I guess. And you? How's L.A.?"

Sarah knew from her mother that he was currently in L.A. at the set of an upcoming blockbuster called "Winter Storms".

"It could be wonderful, if I'd hear from you more often," Jeremy sighed. It didn't sound accusing, rather disappointed which was much, much worse.

Sarah sat down at a table in the bakery. Feelings of guilt rose inside her.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I just thought that you were still mad at me for not listening to you about leaving drama school..."

He suddenly laughed. "What? Me? Mad at you? How could I ever be mad at you? Oh, Sarah. No, don't worry. I'm only concerned for your well-being, that's all."

This wasn't the first time that the thought _'if only he'd be my age'_ ghosted through her mind and made her heart ache a little. Jeremy wasn't hers, he'd never be hers and it hurt. This was another reason for why she hadn't responded to his attempts to reach her.

Ever since her mother had introduced them, when she just turned fifteen, Sarah had felt a strange attraction towards this older man that she couldn't explain without it sounding maddening weird.

Jeremy just had this certain aura around him that drew her to him like a moth to the light. He was charming, attractive, smart, witty, cocky and spontaneous. He didn't give a shit what other people thought about him, quite the opposite to her, and she admired him for it.

Over the last years her crush for him had deepened to a point where Sarah was afraid she might actually be in love with him and after reading that he currently dated a beautiful actress that had been nominated _"Ms. Earth"_ for the 3rd time, she decided it was best to get a little distance from him to protect her heart.

"You don't have to be. I'm just very confused about the future right now, that's it," she said and cursed herself for sounding even more like a childish teenager, who still craved for his attention and not like the woman, she had become.

" **And that's completely normal for your age**. Listen, maybe I or your mother could get you under contract somewhere? You don't have to go to a school like the rest anyway. I've seen you act before, Sarah. You're brilliant and I'm certain that every producer in Hollywood, once they've seen you in action, wants you," he encouraged her.

Sarah sighed, gazing at the various selection of the bakery. She distracted herself by already deciding which of the delicious-looking cakes she was going to take home with her.

"Jeremy, you don't know how thankful I am for all your support –" She began and was instantly interrupted by him.

"But?" he asked.

Sarah took a deep breath. "I'm just...I'm just not sure if I still want to pursue an acting career."

He didn't even take a moment to really overthink what she just said.

"But Sarah, wasn't this always your dream? To become a star like your mother? Even surpass her someday? You've got so much talent, Sarah. Really, please don't throw it away."

"Don't put so much pressure on me," she retorted prickly. She didn't like being pushed into a corner, not even by him.

This managed to make Jeremy pause.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Then… Well, at least take a vacation for some time. Come here to L.A.! You could stay at my villa with me and Abigail. I'm sure you two will get along and if not and you want your space, your mother only lives one hour away, you could also stay at her place? She's gone at the moment due to shooting the series finale of this TV show, I'm always forgetting the title of… "

Abigail was the actress he dated. The _"Ms. Earth"_. Sarah felt the jealousy rage inside of her, though she remained surprisingly calm on the outside.

"Ever After," she told him somewhat bitter. "The title is _'Ever After'_. And I'm sorry, Jeremy, but I can't."

He was very surprised about her snippy tone. "Sarah…what's wrong? I'm not saying that you're not really confused about your dream professions as well but something else is plaguing your mind, am I right?"

Never before had she heard him sound this serious unless it was required for roles he played. Sarah just wanted to slam the damn phone against the next wall and leave the bakery. Escape this shitty situation. But she just couldn't do it. Her body wouldn't move. She had to endure this.

Sarah didn't know what to tell him, so she said nothing. The last thing she'd do was confess her crush on him, talk about the nightmares including Jareth or small goblins visiting her little brother, in a bakery over the phone.

"Ah, so I'm right," he figured from her silence.

"I-I never said you were right. Really, there's nothing else, I-"

"But you remained silent and that's an answer, too, my dear. So, what is it? You can talk with me about anything, you know that."

Could she really? No, deep down she knew she couldn't. It had already been a mistake taking the damn call. She had to ignore the warm feeling in her chest. She had to cut him out of her life, at least until it was gone.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy, but I can't talk anymore. I have to go," she lied and cursed herself for making the lie sound so blatantly obvious.

He didn't say anything for a minute. "Please call or text me if you want to talk. I'll wait for you, Sarah."

Then he hung up and Sarah felt like she had just been nominated for the _"Most Horrible Person"_ award of the year.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for your faves, follows and reviews. It means a lot to me! I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sarah leaned her back against the shut entrance door and closed her eyes. An uncomfortable silence filled the Williams' house. Although she enjoyed being alone sometimes, she also disliked the emptiness when everyone was gone and she was left alone with her own thoughts for too long.

The first thing she did after storing the bought pieces of cake in the fridge, was stroll to the living room and turn up the one song, she always played whenever she felt uneasy.

 _"You will set the world, babe, you will set the world on fire!"_ David Bowie's voice thudded through the speakers and chased the dismally quietness away, at least for 03:32 minutes. His soothing voice always felt like balm to her torn soul.

Sarah walked over to the couch, laid down on her stomach and groaned loudly into one of the mint-green cushions. Why did life always have to be so difficult and confusing?

Or, maybe it wasn't life itself that made everything so difficult but human society and its expectations?

 _'Yes, that makes sense,'_ she thought, rolling on her back and rubbing her closed eyelids.

Sometimes she wished she could travel back to times, when (mostly) everything seemed so much easier than today.

There was too much talk about her future professions lately. People urging her to make choices, Sarah didn't want to make yet.

Current issue was her father wanting her to study, which wasn't such a bad idea itself. But study what?

Furthermore, studying at a university costed an awful lot of money and Sarah knew that, although the family was financially stable, they couldn't afford that much money.

Her mother had already declared, after Sarah quit the drama school, that she would not be further investing in her daughter's education. And Sarah didn't want to start her life into adulthood with her being enslaved by raising a credit that she'd be probably paying off until the end of her life.

Wasn't Jeremy right by pointing out that acting had always been her dream? Just because she hadn't been able to fulfil the teacher's expectations in that stupid drama school, and just because her classmates had disliked her and her acting, it didn't mean she was a lousy actress, right? What even made a lousy actress lousy?

Over the course of two schoolyears, Sarah had started having heavy self-doubts that evolved with her eventually losing her passion and energy for going on stage. And once she had entered this nasty spiral, the critics from everyone around her in school worsened to the point where she downright refused to play at all.

The time in this poisonous environment broke something inside of her and she ended up developing a small stage-fright.

She hadn't told anyone, not even her friends in the Underground about this. When asked by her parents and friends why she was quitting, Sarah simply shrugged it off saying:

 _"Just not really into acting anymore"._

And everyone believed her. Well, almost. The only person, who hadn't let himself be fooled was Jeremy. That was the reason why he had tried so desperately to make her budge her decision.

Sarah sat up on the couch, pressing the cushion against her chest. "It's not fair," she whispered with teary eyes, sounding much like her fifteen year old self again.

* * *

After some time, Sarah pulled herself together and she decided that it was the right time to call on her friends from the Underground. She required clarification about the goblin issue, intending to finally ask some questions about Jareth and those dreams / nightmares, she kept having.

Surely one of her friends must've heard _something_.

Sarah set the table neatly and prepared two bowls, consisting of water and dog food for Ambrosius. Subsequently she walked upstairs to her room, where the mirror stood from which she usually called her friends. Bowie's singing voice continued to echo quietly through the rooms and Sarah had no intention of turning the CD player off.

Her bedroom had changed with her over the course of time. Most of the stuffed animals but a few, the children's books, the costumes were gone. They were replaced by other things that suited her current interests more such as mature fantasy books, lots of CD's from various artists, a typewriter, a scaffold, a colour palette and a collection of brushes.

The Escher room poster still hung, not over her bed anymore but over her desk, and the Labyrinth book was kept, together with some other precious things like her beloved music box, safely in a carton in her wardrobe.

Sarah sat down in front of her cheval glass, a smile forming on her lips as she looked into the mirror and eagerly whispered:

 _"I need you, my friends."_

Minutes passed, nothing happened. Irritated Sarah frowned and said again: "I need you, my friends, please", waiting for a sign.

But there was none. She was still alone, bathing in a silence of shock. Sarah repeated the words a million times, to no avail, until she found herself knocking against the mirror glass.

"Ludo? Sir Didymus? Hoggle?"

With each name her voice grew more desperate. Why weren't they coming? They always immediately showed up whenever she called for them. Something wasn't right. What if they were in trouble?

This was completely unsettling. But there was nothing Sarah could do if they didn't answer. She had no other way to communicate with the Underground.

Sarah ran into the bathroom, trying her luck there but it also didn't work there. The young woman tried every available mirror in the house but eventually returned to her room's mirror without any results. What was happening? Had it something to do with the Goblins?

She didn't know how long she ended up sitting in front of the mirror, staring into the eyes of her pale reflection, reiterating herself over and over again, in hope that they would still show up.

They didn't.

* * *

 _She didn't know where she was. This wasn't the familiar dream with the enchanting ballroom, this was unfamiliar and felt cold. Sarah looked up and saw the full moon shining beautifully above her._

 _She was wearing a peach-coloured blouse and jeans. Her feet were barefooted and her brown hair was pinned-up._

 _Her environment was a beautiful garden with sundry exotic flowers and plants. The air was filled with a sweet fragrant. Sarah inhaled a deep breath of it and sat down on a stony bench beneath an apple tree. She closed her eyes and listened to the singing of the nearby crickets. She knew it was a dream when she saw the Goblin King approach her._

 _Sarah had grown accustomed to the idea that whenever he showed up and gave her the same warm expression, as he did now, it had to be a dream. She turned her head away and focused on the small stream that passed crisscross through the garden. She had no desire to talk to him tonight. Not after the last dream._

 _To her confusion she noticed, from the corner of her eyes, that he got on one knee next to her. Carefully and soft he took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers._

 _"You are beautiful," he said. "Sarah, I must confess something to you."_

 _Sarah lifted an eyebrow and slowly turned her head to face him. There was an unspeakable hurt in his eyes._

 _"I need -"_

* * *

A loud crack of thunder awoke her.

Sarah had fallen asleep in front of the mirror, on the floor. She felt dizzy and hot. When she stood up with shaky legs, her eyes travelled to the small clock on her desk and she remembered something very important.

"Toby!" she exclaimed.

She had completely forgotten to pick him up from school! For a quick moment the worry about her friends not showing up vanished into thin air and Sarah tried her best to ignore the headache that approached her from the sudden adrenaline rush. She grabbed her raincoat that hung over the chair and ran out of the room.

Maybe he was still there? Waiting for her to still show up?

 _Shit. Shit. Shit._

But just when she got downstairs, one arm already in the sleeve of her raincoat, Irene opened the front door and shove Toby inside. The two were completely soaked wet from the heavy rain outside.

Before Sarah could do or say something, her brother called her name and ran into her opened arms.

"Toby! Toby, I'm so sorry!"

Only now did she notice that his trousers were muddy and the hood of his jacket ripped. She held him at arms-length with widened eyes.

"What-…What happened?"

Toby shot a rueful glance at his mother, who looked utterly exhausted and revised.

"Toby, go to the bathroom please, I need to have a conversation with your sister, and then I'll help you get ready for the night."

Her sharp voice assured that any form of protest wouldn't work. Not this time.

Reluctantly he let go of his sister, took his school bag and walked up the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, Irene's terror began.

"Sarah, I can't even begin to tell you how disappointed I am of you," she ranted at her instead of giving her an explanation of what happened to Toby.

"I can't believe you let your brother wait over an hour, all by himself, in the pouring rain without reacting to any of my messages or calls!"

Instantly Sarah tried to defend herself. "I'm really sorry, I –"

She was mercilessly cut off by Irene. "That's it. **'I'**. That's the only thing you truly care about Sarah: yourself.

"For instance, have you written any of the university applications Robert asked you to write? Judging from your expression, I guess not. You either flop around in the house or work that senseless part-time job in the supermarket. You show no interest in spending time with the family –"

"That's not true!"

"Let me finish!" Irene bawled her out, completely losing herself. "You act irresponsible, you have no friends you go out with and you don't even help around in the house."

"I have lots of friends!" Sarah protested. "And I help in the house every day!"

"Ah, really? Where? Because from all I see, you only ever spend time alone. And don't get me started on housework, young lady, because I won't let you tell me that you help here every day. It's a lie and you know that! And, on top of that all, you feed your brother with those horrifying stories of Labyrinths and goblins and portrait me, his mother, as a wicked stepmother, who 'basically enslaved' you!

"Do you have any idea how that made me feel when he told me the story in the car? Now, Toby doesn't understand it yet because he's not old enough, but I instantly knew that you meant me. I have never, ever caused you any harm that justifies you thinking of me as so evil, Sarah!"

She looked genuinely hurt but for Sarah it was nothing but a show.

"I thought you were a grown woman but you're still nothing but a lost child." Irene shook her head in disappointment.

The anger inside Sarah seethed. Her body tensed and her green eyes turned ice-cold.

"My life is none of your business, Irene! I'm doing everything I can to get back on my feet, I -" Again she was mercilessly interrupted.

"And that's where you're mistaking. As long as you live under my roof, your life is my business. I don't wish you anything bad, the opposite is the case, but you only live in that dream world of yours and shut yourself away from the real world. Someday you're going to wake up and realise how much time you've lost. Can't you see that I only mean well to you?"

Sarah clenched her fists. "I don't give a damn about your opinion, you're not my mother!"

Irene yelled: "Well, obviously not. Because if I were your mother, at least you'd know what to do with your life and would be a responsible adult by now!"

Sarah stared at her in silence. If it hadn't been for the throbbing pain in her head, she would've served her stepmother hell on a plate.

Irene realised what she had just said and how easily it could be misunderstood.

"Sarah, I didn't mean it like that, I-!" she stuttered.

"That's it. I'm going to leave this place." The brunette hurried up the stairs. She couldn't bare this loud argument any longer.

Instantly Irene chased after her. "And where do you intend to go? You don't have any place where you could stay!"

"Any place is better than this one!"

"Sarah, please!" Irene begged. She tried to take her stepdaughters hand but Sarah wouldn't let her. "Listen to me, I didn't mean it like that. Linda did a wonderful job with you, she –"

"Don't you dare take my mother's name in your filthy mouth, you…you witch!" Tears were prickling down Sarah's reddened cheeks. She slammed the door to her bedroom behind her and locked it. Irene knocked against it several times in distress.

"Sarah? Sarah, please!"

Sarah didn't answer anymore. She fell onto her bed and sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow, which only worsened the headache.

She hated this place. She hated her current situation, confusion and helplessness. But more than anything she hated **her.**

"Please," Sarah whispered in-between sobs, hoping someone, anyone, could hear her. "Take me away from this awful place, please…" But no one answered.

* * *

"Sarah? Sarah are you there?" Robert Williams asked softly from the other side of the door. Sarah still laid on the bed and stared, with puffy eyes, at the ceiling; Lancelot tightly pressed against her chest. She had taken aspirine against the headache but with the pain in her head disappearing, the pain in her heart only became harder to bare.

"Sweetheart, I just want to talk to you for a moment, would you open the door for me?" No response. Sarah heard him sigh deeply.

"Darling, I'll drive with Irene to the next supermarket to buy some groceries. Toby's already in bed. Do you want something?"

As he didn't hear anything again from her, he said: "Irene feels terrible about the whole thing. Just in case you're wondering. And she does have a point and you know it."

It was just the same as all those years ago after all. Nothing had really changed.

After she heard her father distance himself from her door, Sarah threw the blanket off of her and stood up. She felt a sudden craving to open the carton in her wardrobe and sink into another world.

Her eyes wandered over to the cheval glass. Maybe she should try calling them again?

She stopped in her movement, though, when she heard a faint knock on the door.

"Sarah?" It was Toby.

So much for him _'already being in bed'_. Sarah pressed Lancelot even tighter against her and walked over to the door. She opened it a tiny crack and peeked through. Toby was wearing his pirate pyjama. He was freshly showered and chipper.

"I'm sorry for earlier Toby," she apologised quietly.

"It's okay, Sarah. I'm not mad at you," he assured her. "I know you would never willingly forget me."

She smiled a sad smile. "What happened with your jacket?" she then asked.

"Billy Bishop attacked me," he told her and, to her great surprise, Sarah saw him grinning almost wickedly.

"I was right, you know? He didn't have a chance. The goblins protected me!"

* * *

They sat down together on Sarah's bed, opposing each other. Toby cross-legged and Sarah leaning against the wall behind the bed with her back. Sarah didn't know whether to be concerned by the fact that the goblins had protected her brother or relieved. She decided to go with the latter, though the question " **Why** **they protected him"** remained.

"The best thing is: he couldn't see them!" Toby said. "Now he thinks I'm a wizard! Isn't that cool?"

He thought she'd react as gleeful as him but instead she inquired worried:

"Did they injure him badly?"

Toby was somewhat startled. He shrugged nonchalant. "No, not really. They just destroyed his backpack."

"'Just' destroyed his backpack?" Sarah lifted an eyebrow. "Irene thinks you did it, doesn't she?"

He nodded, his head lowered. "I tried to explain it to her by telling your story but I think I only made it worse… I'm sorry you got yelled at, Sarah."

She tousled through his blond locks. "No need to apologise."

"Sarah, why was the table laid when we got home? Did you expect someone?" Toby asked innocently.

Sarah had entirely forgotten that she had prepared everything for the planned visit of her Underground friends. Her chest tightened at the thought.

"Yes, yes but then I fell asleep..."

"You didn't dream badly again, did you?" he queried worried.

"No, I –." Only now Sarah realised that she was unable to recall what she had dreamt. "Odd, I...have no idea. I can't remember."

Toby shrugged. "Then it can't be important," he said. For him it was as simple as that.

* * *

After bringing Toby back to bed, Sarah headed straight for the wardrobe and took out the special carton. She sat down on the floor and only a few minutes later she was surrounded by newspaper articles and photographs of her mother and Jeremy, printed articles from online forums about mysterious happenings in the vicinity, the Labyrinth book, her music box and sketches from her friends of the Underground.

Next she looked at a sketch of her dear friend Hoggle. Instantly a smile formed on her lips and she thought about her first meeting with him. Back then, she would've never imagined to grow so close to him, to even find any real friends in this mysterious, magical place. But now it felt like those creatures were the only people (aside of her brother), who truly liked and understood her for who she was.

There was an old sketch, one she had completely forgotten, of the Goblin King buried deep down in the carton. She took it in her hands and softly stroke over the grey pencil lines.

"I never did understand him…," she whispered to herself, dwelling in memories.

He was as unfathomable as the Labyrinth itself. Dangerous and unique, in his own mystical way.

Sarah sighed quietly when recalling her latest nightmare with him and reached for her music box. As soon as she wound it up and the calming music played, she found herself smiling.

She wondered if he ever thought of her, cursed her name or smiled when hearing it. But then again it was most likely that he didn't even remember her.

Surely others before and after her had solved the Labyrinth. Sarah couldn't be the only one. That thought seemed absurd to her.

It had been quite an adventure and she considered herself very lucky to have gotten the chance to experience something so magical.

Not everyone could say that they'd beat a powerful King, found wonderful friends and ecountered odd creatures like the Fireys or the Wiseman and his hat, the Helping Hands or the Junk Lady, along the way.

Sarah missed the times when she was as confident as she had been on her journey through the Labyrinth and somehow she felt very nostalgic out of a sudden.

 _"I really wish I could go back to the Labyrinth. I'm sure life would be far easier there."_

Just as the words (for once she hadn't thought 'wish' sentences through) tumbled out of her mouth, she heard a rustle coming from her wardrobe. Sarah froze and not a single sound further escaped her. The music box was still playing in the background.

It rustled again. Slowly she gathered the courage to stand up and slowly approach it. Thunder was growling outside, wind howled and the rain pattered against the window glass.

"Hello?" she called out nervously.

Sarah had already reached for the handle when she suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from her shoulder:

 **"'Allo!"**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks again for all your nice reviews, favourites, follows and most of all for reading! I hope you like the new chapter!  
**

* * *

 _"'_ _Allo!"_

Sarah jerked from shock. Tensely, with a racing heart and shaking hands, she turned her head to her right shoulder and saw, to her great surprise, an old acquaintance of hers. Instantaneously relaxation swept over her. No goblins, thank God!

There on her shoulder sat the worm, who had once given her important advice on navigating her way through the Labyrinth, with a tilted head. He smiled kindly at her.

How in the world had he gotten there? After foolishly voicing her wish, Sarah had rather expected being fetched by an army of goblins and their King than finding the blue worm with the red woollen scarf on her shoulder. Nonetheless she was relieved that the latter was the case.

"Don't be frightened. S' just me," he calmed her.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked wondering.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you again," she added quickly to not appear impolite. One never knew what requirements the creatures in this magical realm had regarding the common forms of civility.

"Well," he said. "I have every idea what I'm doing here but none what you're doing here."

 _'_ _Those Labyrinth inhabitants._ _Always talking in riddles.'_

"What?" She asked baffled. "What do you mean? This is my…"

Now Sarah noticed that the music box wasn't playing anymore. "…room…?"

From the corner of her eyes, she saw that cobbled ground had replaced the laminated flooring under her house slippers and when she turned her head back forward, she found that her room was gone.

Instead of her wardrobe, the young woman was now facing a seemingly endless path, belted by high stonewalls. The surprise was visible on her face.

The worm shook his head. "Nah, dear, this ain't your room. You're in the Labyrinth."

* * *

The first thought that crossed her mind was: _'Shit, Toby's all alone in the house, what if something happens to him while I'm gone?'_

Although Sarah was certain that her parents would come home soon, after all the supermarkets in the neighbourhood weren't open 24 hours, it was still worrying her to imagine Toby being all to himself in this big house.

What if the goblins, from this morning, suddenly had a change of minds and wanted to have a delicious dinner with her brother as the main course?

Did goblins even eat human meat? She had never considered the possibility before but now the horrible idea manifested itself in her thoughts and gave her chills. Sarah knew: she had to get home as quickly as possible.

"You don't seem very happy to be back here," the worm alleged after a short period of silence between them. Sarah looked back at him and carefully lifted him from her shoulder onto the palm of her hands.

"I'm sorry," she apologised. "This trip here is just…quite unexpected."

However, maybe it wasn't all bad to be back in the Labyrinth. For instance, she could use the time here and check on her friends and ask them why they were unable to appear today.

She dearly hoped they were alright. Presumably something had just been wrong with the mirror portal and she had been falsely alarmed for nothing.

"Unexpected trips mostly turn out to be the best", the worm assured her optimistically.

Sarah's lips formed to a slight smile. "Perhaps…," she muttered. She didn't sound very convinced, though.

She had to find Hoggle. Certainly the dwarf would have an idea on how to get her back home. But where was he? It wasn't exactly like he wore a tracking device or she owned a Labyrinth version of the Marauder's Map.

There was a small chance she'd find him in the garden at the entrance to the Labyrinth, where she had first encountered him during her last visit here. Even if he wouldn't be there, Sarah had to give it a try.

There was no time to lose. Especially considering that the Goblin King presumably already noticed her arrival in his kingdom. Sarah didn't know what might await her at a reencounter with him and, honestly, she wasn't eager to find it out.

"I wish I had some ruby slippers," she mumbled to herself in frustration. She'd just click her heels and all problems would be solved. But no ruby slippers replaced her house slippers, even after she spoke the wish aloud.

"You wish you had _what_?" The worm shot an odd glance at her.

"N-Nothing, it doesn't matter." Sarah crouched down and let him crawl out of the palm of her hands, onto the ground. "You do not happen to know the way to the entrance of the Labyrinth, do you?"

"To the entrance?" He laughed surprised. "Don't you rather want to go to the castle at the centre?"

"No." That was definitely the last place she wanted to make an appearance at. "I need to get to the entrance. It's very important."

"Don't ya want to relax first and have a nice cup of tea with me and my missus? She'd be so happy to finally meet ya!" The worm offered.

Even though she would have really liked to have some tea with his _'missus'_ and him, there was sadly no time for it. At least not now.

"I'm sorry, I can't. But I'll be visiting you two another time," she promised him.

That visibly put the worm in a happy mood. He pointed his hindquarters to the direction behind her. "Go that way, straight forward."

Sarah thanked him and asked him to send her regards to his wife, then she waved him goodbye, turned around and rushed away as fast as she could.

The worm shook his head, watching her run.

"Always in a hurry, that odd girl."

* * *

Initially, she had hoped to be there in a matter of minutes but the more way she left behind her, the more her uncertainty grew. After what felt like an hour march, she eventually had to take a short pause. Sarah leaned against one side of the stone walls to gather some breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

She was feeling quite thirsty and tired already and lingered after her soft bed at home.

"Oh, when will this stupid path end already?" she sighed exasperated.

When Sarah opened her eyes again, ready to continue, she wasn't on the same path anymore but instead in a beautiful garden; the most beautiful one she had ever been to.

Uncountable numbers of colourful flowers filled the beds along the surrounding walls and several cobbled paths all led to a fountain in the garden's centre that reminded her of a smaller version of the " _Quatre parties du monde"_ in Paris with the slight changes that the horses were unicorns and the humans, holding a globe, were fairies holding up a crystal ball.

The garden's grass was freshly green and pearls of dew dropped from some of the stems as if had been raining just as heavily here as in the human world. The air smelled like roses and peaches. There were trees and bushes carrying fruits that looked so delicious that they turned Sarah's mouth watery from pure sight and made it hard for her to resist mindlessly eating some.

In the west corner of the garden was a high willow with purple leafs and beneath it was a granite bench. It looked quite familiar to her, even though she couldn't recall ever having visited this place before and it was so enchantingly beautiful that Sarah couldn't feel angry that she wasn't on her way to the beginning of the Labyrinth anymore.

But, to her great worry she realised that, all beauty of the garden aside, it was isolated and there was no way out of here in sight. Carefully, one step at a time, she approached the well in the centre and looked at her reflection in the water. Even though her thirst was strong, she was afraid of what might happen once she'd drink some of the well's water.

She thought about the Grimm' fairy tale "The brother and sister" where the brother drank from a well and turned into a deer and the last thing Sarah needed was something similar to happen to her.

Still gazing at her image in the well's water and reflecting how much her appearance had changed since her first visit here, she didn't notice someone appearing behind her. She stiffened when, all of a sudden, she heard someone clapping their hands.

"Congratulations," he greeted her mockingly. "for finding my private garden."

Sarah clenched her fists, gathered all her courage and turned around to face him. Here he was, standing approximately five steps away from her and the fire in her green eyes, that she had missed so much, burned anew.

A self-complacent smile formed on her rosy lips as she said:

 _"Hello, Goblin King."_

* * *

She reckoned, when she turned around, to have seen his crystal-blue eyes widening for a brief second yet they darkened again so quickly that Sarah later presumed to have only imagined it.

His attire consisted of black boots, a white baggy shirt, a dark grey, contoured trouser and the pendant around his neck. Sarah was glad that she hadn't changed into her pyjamas earlier and still wore her jeans and light-green blouse. His eyes travelled over her body.

"You haven't grown since the last time we've met," he remarked, the right corner of his mouth lifting up to a scornful smile.

It was true that she hadn't gained much height since then but was that really the first thing he noticed? Somehow it managed to annoy her.

Sarah crossed her arms. Initially she deliberated to throw some childish insult at his head but then decided it was wiser not to feed his mockery. So she simply shrugged wordlessly, making his comment appear inconsequential to her.

When he noticed that she didn't react the way he had expected her to, the Goblin King grew cooler again and much more serious.

"What are you doing in the Labyrinth, Sarah Williams?" he interrogated her.

Her heart jumped from fright but she forced herself to remain in a combatively body posture.

"My business is my business and none of yours," she responded and loved that she sounded so utterly courageous.

To her displeasure though, he laughed at her as if she was just a little child, who had tried to sound like an adult. "Oh, Sarah. Do you honestly believe you're able to impress or even intimidate me?"

The Goblin King tilted his head, crossed his arms and grinned. This particular pose gave her a Déjà-vu.

His demeanour and her tiredness enraged her. "If you've only come to taunt me and raise my blood pressure, do us both a favour and leave me alone," she said prickly.

This however angered _him_ as he perceived her irritable behaviour towards him as very disrespectful.

"Sarah Williams, I ask you again and I do not like to repeat myself: what are you doing in the Labyrinth?"

His eyes bore piercingly cold into hers. It truly was incredibly. They didn't even talk for five minutes and she was already this close to exploding. All her hopes, that he might have changed, shattered.

Perhaps it was the frustrating disappointment that made her react more aggressively than she usually would have, with a cool head.

Gosh, how much she wanted to defy him; show him that he couldn't order her around like one of his subjects and servants. Where was this sudden temper, this energy to fight him, coming from?

"And I repeat myself, which I don't like to do either: none of your business, Goblin King!"

"Very well then. What a pity. I had hoped you to be smarter but from now on forward, I can't guarantee for anything," he growled darkly and approached her as fast as a snake attacking its prey.

It all happened far too quickly for her to even comprehend. He must've used some supernatural speed, otherwise this wouldn't have been logically possible. In a matter of milliseconds, the Goblin King removed one of his gloves and gripped her arm with the still gloved hand tightly, while the bare palm of his other hand softly stroke over her forehead.

The world before Sarah's eyes started to swirl and her knees weekend. She felt as if the small rest of her energy got sucked out of her body into his hand. The Goblin King prevented her slump by lifting her in his arms. Before she blacked out, she heard him whisper:

"Sweet Dreams, Sarah."

* * *

When Sarah awoke, a darkness surrounded her that made it impossible for her to see even the broad outlines of her surroundings. It was freezing and moist here and when she stroke her arms to warm herself a little, she realised that her skin was feeling ice-cold.

"Bastard!" she yelled in rage into the obscurity, hoping the Goblin King was able to hear her.

"Wow, you must really hate whoever you mean," a modulated, male voice with an Irish accent replied, scaring Sarah almost to death.

"Who's here?" she asked trembling, lifting her fists in case someone was about to attack her.

The voice chuckled. "Don't worry, you can lower your fists, I won't hurt you."

Sarah blinked surprised. "You can see here?"

A match, which successfully chased the darkness away, was lightened by him and Sarah perceived that the Goblin King had thrown her into an Oubliette. The creature, to whom the voice belonged to, was a young man with green eyes, freckles and pricked ears.

Small horns atop of his head peaked through his tousled brown hair and Sarah noticed he had the legs of a goat. Aside of the goat parts, he reminded her a bit of her ideal image of Peter Pan and Sarah couldn't help but find him somewhat attractive.

"Well," he said smiling wryly. "It sure has its advantages being a Faun. My kind has no problem seeing in the darkness."

He looked around, searching for something. "Wait a second, there must be a candle somewhere around- Ah! There it is!" He used the burning matchstick to lighten the candlewick and shook the matchstick with his other hand until it went out.

"Much better, isn't it? I tend to forget not everyone, who ends up here has the same eyesight as me," he chuckled.

Even though he seemed nice, Sarah warily kept her distance. "Thank you for lighting the candle but: who are you?" she asked politely.

"My name's William and yours?"

"Sarah, Sarah Williams." The fact that her last name and his first name were almost the same made her smile.

His expression showed her that he was not at all unfamiliar with her name. "Ah, so you're the winner of the Labyrinth. I've heard quite a lot about you. Pity we didn't have the chance to meet before but I was already in here when you came to the Labyrinth."

He really seemed to regret it and as he noticed the goosebumps on her arm, he gave her the candle.

"Warm yourself a bit. One of the earlier prisoners wore a coat. His skeleton should be somewhere around here and I bet his coat is still warm and fuzzy."

Sarah gulped. "H-His skeleton? You, uh, didn't end up eating him, did you?"

William burst into a joyful laughter. "Finally someone with a sense of humour! I like you, Sarah Williams."

That said, he walked into a corner of the Oubliette and Sarah knew he had found the skeleton, when she heard him exclaim another loud "Aha!"

Although the thought of wearing the clothes of a dead person highly disturbed her, she had to admit that the coat really helped to chase away the cold and she was thankful having it.

"Now, if I may ask, who were you referring to when you shouted _'bastard'_? For a split second I feared you meant me," William chortled gleefully.

Sarah grumbled something inaudible and looked into the candlelight. Then she sighed. "I meant the Goblin King."

"Jareth?" He looked amused for some reason.

"Yes! Can you imagine? I haven't seen him in five years and the first thing he does is mock and anger me to the point where I just want to punch him in the face. And THEN, when I give him some of his own medicine, because apparently no one besides of me seems to have the guts to tell his _'Highness'_ that he can't talk to me like that, he flips out, knocks me out and throws me into an Oubliette!" Just reliving the events by telling them, aroused her anger once more.

William tilted his head and brought his finger to lips. "Ah, so that was what the goblins were talking about when they brought you here."

Sarah inhaled sharply and jumped to her feet. "That really is the limit!" she exclaimed upset.

Baffled, Williams stared at her. "Huh?"

"He has the nerve to knock me out and then he doesn't even have the decency to bring me down here by himself? I can't believe it!"

"You should write a lists of insults that you can throw at his head once you face him in trial," William suggested her, assuming this would cheer her up in some way. It didn't. Instead her eyes widened in disbelief and she grew paler.

"…T-Trial?!" she choked out.

William nodded as if it was self-explanatory. "Why yes, of course. That's why you're here, waiting for your trial. Didn't you know this?"

Sarah was completely baffled and didn't understand the world anymore. A trial for what exactly? For angering or, as he'd say, _insulting_ the Goblin King? This was completely ridiculous! She couldn't wait for a trial! She had to find Hoggle and return home to Toby!

"But I didn't do anything!" she stammered in disbelief.

William sat down on the ground. "You know, Sarah, you're the first one whom I truly believe that. I think Jareth's just doing this to provoke you. Nevertheless, you shouldn't worry, I don't think he'll decide to sentence you to death."

Instinctively Sarah touched her neck. "Death…? What do you mean he won't sentence me to death? Could he if he wanted to?" she asked feebly.

"He's the King of this realm, Sarah, he can do anything he wants," William confirmed her fears.

"Gosh, I hate monarchies!" she groaned frustrated and kicked a small stone. Suddenly her stomach grew sick. What if he had done something similiar to her friends? What if he had sentenced them do death?

'I need to get out of here, I need to get home,' she thought frantic and, while walking in a circle, tried to get a sudden inspiration on how to escape the Oubliette without Hoggle's help.

"There's no way out of here," William discouraged her. "Trust me, I've been here for ten years."

"No," Sarah shook her head, not giving up that easily. "There has to be one. I'm sure of it."

Her reluctance to surrender impressed him. "Now I see how you could beat the King of the Goblins," he spoke admiring.

At that precise moment a door in the wall opened and a small army of goblins entered the Oubliette. William shot a deprecating glance at them and got up quickly to stand protectively before the young woman, they came to take with them.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked confused.

"I didn't think they'd come so soon to fetch you up," William explained grimly.

A large goblin, who was almost as big as Sarah, grunted angrily: "Sit back down, Faun." When William didn't move a muscle, he grabbed and threw him aside, onto the ground, as if he weighted nothing. The rest of the goblins snickered derisively as they put shackles on Sarah's hands and dragged her out the Oubliette.

"I'll come back for you William! Don't give up hope!" Sarah promised him courageously. After the last Goblin left, the door disappeared and the Faun was all alone again. With a sigh, William reached for the candle and extinguished its flame with his fingers.

"Don't promise things, you can't keep, Sarah Williams," he muttered sorrowful and bathed in the returned darkness.

* * *

Guarded by goblins of all sizes, Sarah was guided through richly decorated floors. At the walls hung variations of portraits, tapestries with unique designs and weaponry. The door they had used to get out of the Oubliette, appearently led straight into the castle.

Soon they reached the throne room. The Goblin King was nonchalantly sitting on his throne, legs over the armrest, and awaited their arrival. When he saw the approaching Goblins with Sarah, he quickly changed his position and sat upright to appear more reputable.

She did not deign to look at him for a second and so she didn't couldn't notice the slight glimmer of pity in his eyes.

His subjects pushed her, a little too eagerly, into the round pit in the middle of the throne room. Sarah couldn't hold her balance, fell and scrapped her knees.

"That's no way to treat a girl. Help her to get up, for bog's sake," the Goblin King ordered them to do with a disgruntled tone.

The goblins groaned but did as their King told them to and helped Sarah to stand up from the ground.

"And now apologise to her," he further commanded.

Those responsible for her fall, apologised to her in chorus and Sarah was sincerely surprised that the Goblin King made them do this as he had no reason to.

As they finished, all of them gathered excitedly around the pit. They wanted to watch this spectacle of a trial.

Jareth still shook his head. "Gosh, it's really hopeless to teach you all manners."

What in the world was going on? Why was he, out of a sudden, so strangely polite? Almost kind, if she dared say so.

 _'What is he up to?'_ Sarah thought sceptically.

"Now, you know why you're here, don't you?" He spoke without any emotion as if it was a formal procedure to ask this question.

"No, to be honest, I don't," Sarah responded. "I have no idea what I did wrong aside of maybe offending you personally."

"That's not the reason you're here although we might have a talk about that later," he said darkly.

Sarah sighed unnerved. "Then please tell me what I did, so we can finish this and I can go home again."

"Go home again? I'm afraid Sarah that certainly won't be the case."

She stared at him in shock, unsure if he meant this seriously or as a joke.

"Excuse me?"

"Let me explain your crime to you. You, a personal threat to the Labyrinth and its inhabitants, entered my kingdom without any given permission and, when asked by me about your intentions here, denied to make a statement."

"What?! But I –"

"Therefore, as it is my duty as the King of the Goblin Kingdom to protect my subjects, I should sentence you to death…"

A dumber goblin asked: "Did he just sentence her to death?"

Another one hit him and hissed: "Be quiet, I can't understand a word!"

Sarah froze on the spot. For the first time in her life she was mortally scared for she became aware of the fact what power he actually held and could execute to his will.

"…but I won't do that since I don't consider myself morally in the right to decide over life and death. Instead you will live and work here at the castle, where I can keep an eye on you, as one of my subjects."

"Did he now sentence her to death?" the dumber goblin asked again.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" the other one screeched.

"If you two ain't quiet now, **_I'm_** gonna sentence you to death!" A female goblin blustered them.

There was no mock or hoax behind the Goblin King's words and Sarah knew he was dead serious about what he just said.

"Y-You can't do that! I have to get home!" A wave of emotions suddenly broke out of her. "Toby's all alone right now and it could be hours until Irene and papa come back!" she yelled.

"You needn't worry, I can assure you he will be save until they arrive," he promised.

Sarah shook her head in despair. "What about my life?" she cried. "I can't spend my entire life here in the Underground, in this castle!"

She thought of everyone she loved. Toby, her father, her mother!

"There must be an alternative!" she pleaded.

He shook his head. "The alternative is death, if you prefer that. And I highly doubt it. Plum will show you the way to your room. And don't even think about running away because," he made a crystal appear in his hands out of thin air, "I see everything that's going on in this kingdom."

To keep herself from crying before him, Sarah bit her lip so hard it started to bleed. The female goblin, who had threatened the other goblins before, came to her and removed her shackles.

"Come," she grumbled and helped Sarah reluctantly out of the pit.

Before Sarah left the throne room with her, she turned around once more to look at the Goblin King. As she saw no sign of compassion on his face, she turned away with an aching heart.


	5. Chapter 4

"Come on now, we don't have all day," the female goblin called Plum barked impatiently and shooed Sarah up a circular staircase.

Sarah didn't answer. For one thing out of spite and because of the numbing consternation that had taken over her ever since she left the throne room with the goblin.

Plum scrunched up her nose when she didn't receive a response. "Your obstinacy and taciturnity won't get you anywhere, here, silly human. If I were you, I'd clutch at every given straw from now on."

'Good that you're not me then, I guess,' Sarah thought bitterly.

The room, the Goblin King had assigned to her, was in the northern wing of the castle. Surprisingly it was a neat and bright room, completely furnished, with an adjacent bathroom and a window that offered her a view over the Labyrinth. She had expected a prison cell.

"Don't you dare take it for granted," Plum exhorted her when seeing Sarah's visible relief. "Not everyone here receives such luxury. You should thank the King for his generosity."

Sarah snorted scornfully at the word 'generosity'. At what point in this whole mess had he ever been _generous_ to her?

Plum's face darkened. "You deserve none of this if you ask me!" she blustered and threateningly lifted her forefinger. "But just you wait. You'll get that arrogance of yours driven out of you soon enough when you have to clean the entire castle all by yourself!"

"Fine. I'd rather do that than suck up his ass!" Sarah cursed and turned away from the goblin. "Now, leave me alone…Please."

Plum muttered something inaudible but did as Sarah said yet not without slamming the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Sarah quickly opened the window and peeked down. She was far too high up and from first glance, she knew that there weren't nearly enough bed sheets and curtains available in here to use for an escape.

The sun set in the distance, bathing the sky in pink, yellow, red and orange and the young woman found herself unable to look away from it. One thing was for sure: she wouldn't stay here. She'd do everything in her power to return home.

"I'll come back soon, Toby," she whispered as she watched the sun disappear behind the hills that were before the Labyrinth; a tear rolling down her cheek. "I promise you."

* * *

The next morning when Sarah awoke, the first thing she noticed was a small tray with a slice of bread and a glass of water on the nightstand beside her bed. Apparently Plum had returned some time later with it when Sarah had already been fast asleep. Despite her bitterness about yesterday's events, Sarah considered it to be a kind gesture given that Plum _didn't have to_ bring her anything at all.

Hungrily, the young woman gulped the food down in a matter of seconds. She didn't mind that the bread was almost too dry to consume. Food was food and Sarah was starving. Unfortunately though it didn't allay her hunger as her growling stomach confirmed. Sarah laid her head back on the pillow and gazed in abstraction at the ceiling. A nervous unrest spread in her stomach and chest but she tried her best to remain calm to view everything from a clearer perspective. It didn't do any good to wallow in self-pity. She had to develop some kind of plan on how to survive here for now.

The room was quite beautiful, she had to admit. The wood of the furniture, bed, desk, chair, commode and wardrobe was made from walnut wood, the round carpet on the floor bore a grey-blue colour and a painting of a colourful butterfly hung above the desk. Curtains, with the same colour as the carpet, blew gently in the wind that came through the long, open window doors that led to a small balcony.

But there was one place she hadn't visited before and was a little anxious to do so. Sarah had no idea what might await her in the bathroom. She hoped dearly that they'd, at least, possess something similar to modern, human toilets in this kingdom.

Unfortunately they didn't. There was only a hole in the ground, in the right corner of the bathroom, and no sight of toilet paper or something remotely similar. A bucket full of water and a beautifully decorated mirror, hanging above the bucket on the wall, symbolised a washbasin and were next to a white, porcelain bathtub.

As much as it went against Sarah's grain: she had to talk with the Goblin King about this matter. After all, she would be spending at least a couple days here before she could find a way home and she definitely didn't want to use a hole in the ground for a toilet if it was evitable. Moreover there were a few items she urgently required like a toothbrush, toothpaste and spare clothes; especially undergarments!

Sarah gathered all her strength and nerves and was just about to leave the room to search for him when the door suddenly opened and Plum entered her room. Her way of walking reminded Sarah somewhat of a penguin and only now did she really observe the goblin.

She was at least two heads smaller than Sarah; had wrinkled, greyish skin, a flowing mane of white hair, which almost reached her hips, and big red-coloured eyes. Plum wore brown, raggedy clothes that looked similar to the ones Dobby the Houselve in the Harry Potter movies had worn and no shoes.

"You're already awake," she grumbled yet it sounded pleasantly surprised.

"Yes, I am," Sarah responded soberly. "What's the matter?"

Plum walked over to the empty tray and put it under her arm. "The King wants to see you."

"Perfect. I was just on my way to him, myself," Sarah told her with confidence. The sudden cooperation from the young woman highly irritated the goblin.

"You were?" She eyed her warily but then broke into a spiteful laughter. "Seems like someone has come to her senses quite fast, huh?"

Sarah rolled her eyes and ignored the comment. "I don't know my way around here. Could you bring me to the throne room?"

Plum grinned devilling. "I could of course but I don't really want to. It'd be much more fun to see yourself get lost in the castle!" she snickered.

"Fine! I'll search for it myself then," Sarah groaned impatiently and was already in the doorframe when she felt the cold, short fingers of the goblin woman on her wrist.

"I said I didn't want to," she explained, still grinning like the Cheshire cat "not that I'm not going to."

* * *

In silence they walked through many corridors. Once in a while they saw two to three goblins scurry, in a seemingly big hurry, from one room to another. Some of them didn't dare to look at them while others risked a curious glance. And then there were four goblins, who started to laugh cattily when Sarah and Plum passed them; slandering quietly about the woman and the female goblin. When Plum noticed, she instantly turned around and yelled spitefully at them:

"Get back to work, you scruffy dimwits or I'll make sure you swallow your own tongues!"

She didn't need to say another word and Sarah found herself to be secretly impressed the way Plum had handled this.

"Are you their boss?" she asked.

Plum gave her a quizzical look and shook her head. "No, no. If I were their boss, they would have ended in the bog a long time ago. Stupid skunks." She spit on the ground and opened a wooden door. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh," Sarah drew her glance from the spit on the ground back to Plum "no particular reason."

The silence between them returned and although Sarah did have some topics she could've started a conversation with, she didn't want to. There was enough talking to do with the King.

Finally, after what felt like hours, they reached the floor that led to the throne room.

"Don't do something stupid." Plum shoved her ahead and when Sarah turned around to counter something, the goblin was gone. She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Me? Doing something stupid?" she grumbled to herself while walking to the throne room door. Secretly she hoped really not to anything that might worsen her current situation.

Just when she reached the opened doors, a chicken, screaming loudly in panic, escaped from inside. It was followed by three to four goblins, who chased it hungrily. Sarah frowned and figured that it was a good idea to take a quick peek first before entering.

The room was filled with goblins and chickens. A few strands of hay covered the ground. It was noisy and sticky, stank of beer and fried meat. Sarah thought it looked utterly chaotic and not the least bit as tidy as it had appeared yesterday.

She spotted the Goblin King right away. He was casually sitting on his throne, legs over one armrest, and rubbed his temples with an annoyed look plastered on his face. For a brief moment, one or two seconds at most, Sarah gazed at him and felt the disappointment swallow her heart. All those dreams in the past few months, all those hopes had been absolutely for nothing. He hadn't changed one bit.

Then the moment was gone and a small goblin noticed her.

"HUMAN IS HERE!" he announced her arrival in a shrill tone and rang the cowbell he held in his hand.

* * *

The Goblin King turned his head to the door. A faint glint flashed over his eyes when he saw her. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"You called," Sarah said emotionless. The goblins looked to their king, whose lips curled to a wry smile.

"Out. Now," he commanded the goblins without taking his eyes from the brunette. Some of them complained, grumbled and cursed under their breaths but they did not dare to challenge him. When the last one of them was out and the door closed behind Sarah, she became nervous. He was the first to break the ice.

"How was your first night in the castle?" he asked. If it hadn't been for the mocking smile, which was still visible on his lips, she almost would've believed him to be actually interested in her answer.

Sarah shrugged. "It was okay," she replied factual and turned her gaze to the window arches. Her arms were crossed over her chest. "I want to talk with you about something."

He lifted an eyebrow; a wary coldness in is eyes. "Do you now? How about you look at me when you do that?"

She grumbled something inaudible but faced him fearlessly. "Yes, it's about the bathroom and that I need some things from home."

"What's the matter with the bathroom?" he asked serious.

Sarah informed him, the best she could, about the differences of her bathroom at home and the bathroom here.

"And what about those 'items' you require?"

"Toothbrush, toothpaste, clothes and my brush, oh, and my make-up bag," she listed.

The King nodded, strangely cooperative. "That can be arranged..."

That took a load off her mind. She was just about to thank him when he sneakily added: " ** _BUT_** "

She scoffed condescending. "I forgot that everything comes with a price with you."

He grinned. "I cannot deny that."

"But what?" Sarah asked cautioned. "What do you want?"

"If I do that for you, you owe me a favour."

Needless to say she highly disliked the idea of owing him something. "What favour?"

"I haven't decided yet," The Goblin King said and shrugged. His mocking smile returned and made her nearly lose her calmness. How she managed to outwardly maintain so indifferent was a true miracle to her.

She shrugged. "Alright, it's a deal."

"A deal," he agreed and promptly made several crystal balls appear, out of nowhere, with which he juggled like a bored child.

"Didn't you want to talk with me about something, too?" Sarah inquired when the uncomfortable silence returned.

"No, Ms. Williams, I just wanted to see you and now I have." His expression was unfathomable.

She frowned. "Why do you call me that anyway? You've never called me _'Ms. Williams'_ before."

"Does it bother you?"

"A little. It feels so…formal." She shook her head. "Please just call me Sarah."

He continued to juggle with the crystal balls, not saying anything about her remark and suddenly:

"Catch."

He threw a crystal ball at her. Sarah was surprised that she actually managed to catch it.

"What should I do with it? And what has that to do with you calling me _'Ms. Williams'_?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It has nothing to do with it. Just look inside."

It felt cool and smooth in the palm of her hands. She examined it closely, turned it upside down in hope to see something but it remained translucent. Maybe it was defect? Anyway, she had no idea what he wanted her to do with this.

 _It's a gift. It'll show you your dreams._

* * *

"Why did you return to the Labyrinth, Sarah?" Sarah hadn't noticed him approach her again and almost jumped when she saw him standing directly before her. His voice was strangely soft; his blue eyes boring into hers. They were searching for something and Sarah truly feared he might be able to read her thoughts.

Even though she wanted to hate him with every fibre of her being for imprisoning her in this world, she couldn't. Her heart was betraying her mercilessly as it started to race and affected her breathing to quicken as well. Damn those shitty dreams of the past few months. She held them responsible for her current reaction.

"I-I didn't plan to come back." Her throat felt dry.

He came even closer. Of course he noticed, she thought. There was no way he didn't.

"You wished to come back, didn't you?" he asked huskily. The world around them suddenly seemed so blurry and unimportant. She noticed he smelled almost just like in her dreams. Peaches, instead of pomegranates, but still sweet osmanthus. Sarah felt his arm slip around her waist; he gently pulled her against his body. She only had to lift her head a little and they'd –

He chuckled fruity as she didn't answer his question. There was a different battle she was fighting internally and Sarah knew she was dangerously close to losing it. Her face was tinted red and she cursed herself in every imaginable way. From every guy she'd ever met why did he have to make her feel that way?

His lips brushed her earlobe as he whispered: "Don't be afraid, Sarah. It's only a dream."

Sarah's eyelashes fluttered shut and her lips opened. Only when she laid her free hands on his chest, did she notice that was he had just said was true. This wasn't real. The crystal ball she had held was gone.

"Oh my Gosh! I can't believe it, you sonofa-!" she cursed loudly and tried to free herself.

That very second, the sound of shattered glass brought her back to reality. It was the crystal ball. She had dropped it and its splinters covered the stony ground beneath her.

* * *

Sarah's hands were shaking; her face still coloured scarlet red as she stared from the splinters at the King, who still sat on his throne. He was an even keel.

"How could you?!" she yelled horrified at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "How could I what?" he asked innocently.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! Don't play dumb! That's it, I'm leaving! I've got to get out of here!" Driven by anger, she turned around, ready to leave.

The Goblin King grimaced and got up from his throne. With one swing of his hand the doors before the young woman closed and locked themselves. He wasn't going to let her get away this easily. With another swing, he made the glass splinters on the ground disappear.

He growled: "What an ungrateful brat you still are! I make you a peace offering and this is your response?!"

"Peace offering!" Sarah couldn't believe it. "You tried to seduce me! And to think you almost even had me!" She wanted to bang her head against the closed doors. How could she have been this stupid?

The Goblin King paused dazed. "Seduce…you?"

Finally he seemed to understand what the problem appeared to be. He chortled sardonically.

"What's so damn funny?!" Sarah barked irritable.

"Oh Sarah," he was extremely amused about this revelation. "Oh my dear Sarah, you're right."

"So you admit it?!"

He chuckled, his eyes reflecting deep interest. "You're clearly not a girl anymore."

Sarah didn't understand a thing of what was going on. The only thing she knew for sure was that she highly disliked his smugly grin.

"The crystal you held was supposed to show you your deepest dreams," he explained. "I assumed it would give you the chance of a short reunion with your family but apparently you seem to have other interests." He winked at her.

Slowly the merciless understanding hit her in the face and froze her to the ground. Sarah wanted to die from embarrassment.

"No, oh my Gosh, no!" she tried to bluff it out; her cheeks flaming red again. "I'm not -, my deepest dreams don't include you seducing me!"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Oh Sarah, you needn't lie to me."

"It must be your fault! Just like it was when you drugged me with this disgusting peach and we ended up dancing!" she insisted, trying to put the blame on him. "I bet those dreams from the past few months were also your work, Jareth!"

It was the first time ever that she used his name in a conversation with him and Sarah saw his eyes widening a bit in an odd fascination. Even though she would've never admitted it aloud, she liked the way his name felt on her tongue.

"You must've really missed me, Sarah."

"I assure you: I did not!" she cursed through gritted teeth. "That's all your doing! Just admit it!"

He grew serious. "I've had nothing to do with those dreams of yours, you seriously should know better. Even with the peach I only offered you the opportunity to experience a dream of yours. I had no influence on the content."

Somehow this tightened her chest in an uncomfortable way. She had always assumed… Oh, it didn't matter what she had assumed. Still it made her sad to think he hadn't really been there with her and that it had been, after all, only an illusion and nothing more.

"Mh, I see." Jareth muttered empathically, ignoring her question. He had noted her sorrow. "You thought whatever happened in that dream was real. My condolences."

Sarah remained silent. Everything she could've said were things she absolutely didn't want him to know.

"However, it's time for our little, tiresome, conversation to end."

She blinked in disbelief. "What the -? Why?! You haven't answered my question!"

He clicked his tongue teasingly. "Such tone, Sarah. Plum is waiting in front of the door with tasks that you need to have done within today. I could keep her waiting a little longer, of course, but honestly? I don't want to do that. By the way, she's your personal supervisor. She's lovely, isn't she?" Jareth grinned.

"You're such an idiot!"

He grimaced. "I dislike you talking to me in such a distasteful manner," he said grimly.

"Well, get used to it! If you continue to treat me this badly, I will give you a taste of your own medicine!" Sarah threatened him.

Jareth snorted enraged. "I have never treated you badly!"

She scoffed. "Oh, really? And what about kidnapping my brother, sending the Cleaners after me, the poisoned peach, forcing me to stay here in your realm? And don't think I forgot that you knocked me out and threw me into an Oubliette!"

"I have always been honest with you, Sarah, and more than indulgent. Others of my kind would have murdered you by now due to your insolences!" he growled.

Others of 'his kind?' What kind? Fairies? Elves? Was he a Goblin? Leprechaun? What kind did he belong to?

"You know what? You're right. We'll end this conversation now because I'm done talking to you."

 _'_ _Show him that he can't toy around with you,_ ' she encouraged herself in thoughts. _'You're a young, independent woman. Show him that this doesn't affect you at all! He has no power over you!"'_

"I don't even care about the power of names anymore," she pretended conceited. "I'll just go to Plum now and do whatever it is she wants me to do, because apparently I've become Cinderella. And trust me, I will do my very best to avoid you, your Highness." Sarah mockingly dropped a courtesy.

He grinned at her reckless behaviour towards him. Although he really disliked her rudeness, he also found her temper intriguing. "You can't be Cinderella. I met her, she's much more likeable than you."

That was the last straw. "I hate you, Goblin King!" Sarah yelled at him, turned around and clomped away to the exit. Furiously, she opened the doors, they weren't locked anymore – thank God, and slammed them shut behind her. Hundreds of goblin eyes stared at her in bewilderment. They all had tried to eavesdrop their conversation. Plum was in the front row.

"Go back to work you idiots!" she yelled at some of others. Those addressed by Plum turned around quickly and went away to continue their work, others squeezed past Sarah to get back into the throne room. When they opened the doors, she saw that Jareth was gone.

* * *

"Didn't I tell you not to do something stupid?" Plum reminded her angrily when she and Sarah walked into the large kitchen of the castle. Goblins, and other creatures that Sarah couldn't identify, were busy preparing meals.

"I didn't say something stupid!" Sarah denied.

"Tell that to my dead grandmother you daughter of a puck! Everyone heard how you talked to him. If I were the King, I'd shove all my feeling for you up your ass and leave them there to rot!" she cursed and said in the same breath: "Your working clothes are in that cubbyhole in the second self. They're the largest ones."

Sarah clenched her fists but found no point in arguing with the goblin. She'd just end up putting wrong words in her mouth and twist every valid argument. So Sarah simply did as she said and walked into the cubbyhole to change for her new work. The working clothes consisted of a plain white blouse and a brown dress with a white apron. They had no proper shoes for her so Sarah had to walk barefooted.

Judging from the clothes, she found she really did look a bit like Cinderella. At least like the Disney version.

"Finally, the princess is ready," Plum mocked grumpily and jumped, impatient like a child, up and down. "Hurry up! These chaps need help peeling potatoes!"

"Okay, okay I'm on it," Sarah said placating and walked over to the goblins Plum had pointed at. This was going to be a long day, she just knew it.

* * *

And she was right. After helping in the kitchen for approximately two to three hours, Plum brought her to the laundry room to work there. Sarah had hoped to meet at least one nice person today but neither in the kitchen nor in the laundry room did anyone talk to her if it wasn't about her having to work faster. Whenever she tried to start a conversation with them they turned away or didn't respond to her. She did notice, from the corner of her eyes, though that they were throwing odd glances at her...

Around 5 pm every worker was called for dinner into a big dining hall. All but Sarah.

"What do you mean I can't come too?" she asked Plum indignantly, who tapped her foot in impatience. They were standing before the entrance to the hall. It was obvious Plum was very hungry and annoyed. Sarah felt as much a burden to her as the many chickens, who lived in the castle.

"It's not my fault!" she ranted. "Go and complain about it to the King! I got the orders from him."

Sarah couldn't believe it. "This can't be real…," she whispered frustrated. Did he want to exclude and starve her? Was this his idea of revenge? But she was just as hungry and thirsty as Plum, if not even more, and too tired to fight. She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger.

"Where is the King right now?" she demanded to know.

"How should I know? Do I look like his mother?! Now leave or else I'll bite you in the arse!"

Plum shook her head and waddled away inside, grumbling under her breath: "Stupid human."

Sarah watched all the creatures gather inside the hall. The large doors closed before her, shutting her out. This felt even worse than her time in drama school where no one had wanted to befriend her and treated her like an outsider and a failure. She lowered her head and felt the tears escape from the corner of her eyes. She knew she had to fight, she knew she shouldn't cry but she was completely exhausted and felt extremely lonely.

Sarah decided not to search for Jareth. She couldn't face him like this, it went against her pride. So she wandered to the castle garden, she had noticed when she had gazed out of the kitchen window earlier while peeling potatoes, to calm down first.

The garden wasn't as enchanting as the one the Labyrinth had guided her to yesterday but this one was beautiful nonetheless and obviously kept immaculate.

Sarah enjoyed the feeling of the green grass tickling her feet as she explored the garden and for the first time today she actually felt almost happy. It had been a good idea to come here.

The tranquilness and peacefulness of her surrounding made it easier for her to sort her thoughts. She was just about to sit down on a wooden bench, which stood lonely in the middle of the garden, when Sarah suddenly noticed a small fairy that flew panicky past her.

"What the-?" She turned around and gazed after the fairy in wonder, when she heard someone loudly proclaim:

"Come back here you stupid fairy!" Someone came running from their hideout behind a large bush.

 _Sarah froze when she saw him._


	6. Chapter 5

For the half of a second Sarah had hoped for it to be Hoggle.

But it wasn't him. Instead, a small troll in a rusty-looking black armour and with pointy, sticky-out ears, desperately attempted to chase after the fairy. He didn't make it far though as he was already out of breath when reaching Sarah and the bench.

 _'Maybe,'_ she pondered _'since he seems to work in the garden, too, he might know where Hoggle is?'_

As he fought for air next to her, Sarah carefully tried to start a conversation with the stranger: "Excuse me?"

He didn't react the first time, so she repeated herself and finally he turned his head, quite irritated, in her direction. On closer look Sarah noticed he had rabbit teeth, yellow piercing eyes and that his green skin was quite oily.

He looked around to assure himself that she couldn't have meant someone else.

"Are you talking to me?" he asked perplexed, his voice sounding very nasal.

She nodded.

"Well, what can I do for you, uh," he eyed her quickly from head to toes and added uncertain "human?"

"Do you, by any chance, know where a dwarf called Hoggle is?" Sarah inquired.

Instead of answering her question, he silently peered into the distance until Sarah coughed slightly to regain his attention.

He blinked irritated but then realised that she had asked him a question.

"Whops, sorry!" he apologised with a happy smile. "S' just that I remembered all the things I still have to do and anxiously tried to escape them by vanishing into a timeless pit of despair."

Sarah gave him an odd look.

"And to answer your question: nope, haven't seen a dwarf like that. I did hear 'bout the name once some time ago. Why? You need something from him?"

"Hoggle's my friend and I'm searching for him but I can't find him," Sarah explained sighing and sank back onto the bench. "I'm worried he might be in trouble."

"That's sad. I hope you find your friend and nothing has happened to him," the troll said, giving her an empathic smile. He really seemed like a nice guy. The first friendly creature, she had encountered today. Maybe they could form a friendship?

"What's your name?" Sarah asked.

"Timble, n' yours?"

"I'm –"

Just when she was about to answer, she heard someone behind them clicking their tongue. They both turned to the direction the sound had come from and saw the Goblin King leaning against one of the apple trees with crossed arms.

"Her name is Sarah," he finished the introduction for her coolly. "Williams."

Timble paled visibly when hearing the name.

"S-Sarah?" he repeated stuttering, realising to his great concern with whom he had just conversed. He quickly bowed before his king, repeatedly apologising to him, then ran away panicky as if he was in fear for his life.

"No! Wait, Timble!" Sarah called out. But it was no use, her new potential friend was gone. Angrily and confused she jumped off the bench and turned to Jareth.

"Why did he run away when hearing my name?" she demanded to know.

Jareth's smile was wintry. He approached her slowly; hands folded behind his back.

"You're a convicted criminal, Sarah, and an enemy to the king, me. Besides, my subjects haven't forgotten the cruelty you and your petty friends showed them back then in the Goblin City."

"It was necessary. Your subjects attacked us!"

"Because you entered the city without anyone's permission."

"Nobody told me I needed permission."

"Perhaps you should've just asked one of your friends," Jareth growled derisively.

Sarah scoffed. "Yes sure. As if you would've risked your victory that easily. Speaking of _'my friends'_ \- where are they?"

"Let that be none of your concern."

"Excuse me?!"

Jareth began circling her like a vulture. "Are you truly naïve enough to expect me to reveal the current location of your allies? It's obvious that you'd manage to persuade them into helping you again to find an escape path from the Underground."

"There is an escape path from of the Underground?" she asked provocatively sarcastic.

"Don't defy me, Sarah," he growled prickly, stepping closer to her. When Sarah reflexively took a step back, her bum landed on the bench. He towered over her and she met his gaze rebellious. "It would be wiser of you not to anger me in your current situation."

She scoffed boastful; a courageous smile on her lips. _ **"You have no power over me."**_

"Quite the contrary is the case. You are one of my subjects and therefore obliged to live under my rules."

"But as a subject of yours, I possess rights of my own and one of them certainly contains that I can, _at least_ , question the rules of my monarch," she countered sassily. "Also, you may hold power over my social status and my current employment in your castle but you have no power over me as a person."

Jareth arched an eyebrow. His blue eyes mercilessly bore into hers, cold as a deadly winter night, but his lips formed to a relishing grin.

"Don't be so certain of that."

Suddenly, to her great surprise, he stepped away from her and turned his back on her. Sarah blinked in confusion.

"These conversations with you are getting quite tiresome. I truly have better ways to waste my time."

She wanted to spit something back at him but then realised: he was right. This was silly. They were like cats and dogs, unable to get along. But she didn't want to continue fighting with him forever since it really annoyed her and wasn't really helpful.

Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance to call a truce? Or at least try. Even though she knew that a potential friendship with Jareth would also increase her chances of escaping this place, she generally disliked the idea of using people and therefore abandoned it quickly. But this really couldn't go on like this.

Someone had to be the adult and make the first step. And Sarah decided that she was going to be the one to make that step, right now.

* * *

"Is it always going to be like this between us?" she asked, her voice softer than intended.

Jareth paused in his movement. He stood with his back to her. "I do not know what you mean," he pretended but the tone of his voice betrayed him.

"I mean the hating, the fighting and the attempt to hurt each other emotionally. I don't want that anymore, Jareth. It's childish and stupid." Sarah stood up from the bench and slowly approached him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, highly confused. Jareth turned around and faced her. She held her hand out to him and swallowed her pride as she said:

"I'm sorry about this morning. I overreacted because this whole thing is very overwhelming and new to me. Can you forgive me?"

He stared at her hand warily and slowly lifted his gaze to meet her eyes.

 _'Perhaps this is going a little too fast?'_ she feared.

His eyes scanned hers, trying to understand if she was being sincere or not. Eventually he did take it, but hesitantly.

"I accept your apology, Sarah," he said reserved. "And, although I do not think that I did anything wrong," she lifted an eyebrow, "I admit that it might have come off a little harshly towards you."

She was honestly surprised to receive at least _something_ like an apology from him. "It's alright," she sighed dramatically but smiled; waving nonchalantly in the air with her other hand. "I forgive you."

Jareth slightly tilted his head and gave her a curious look that made Sarah a little uncomfortable. Also he still held her hand.

"What's wrong?"

"You must be hungry," he evaded her question and fittingly, just in this moment, a loud growl emerged from Sarah's stomach that confirmed his assumption. She let go off his hand.

He grinned, slightly more relaxed. "I take that as a _'yes'_."

Sarah blushed from embarrassment. "Are the goblins still in the dining hall?" she asked. "Speaking of which, I still have to say that it wasn't very fair to exclude me from dinner. I felt like an outsider…"

Jareth raised an eyebrow, an amused grin forming on his lips. "You wish to dine with the goblins?"

"Not really. I just felt shitty when they told me that their king had not allowed me to join them for dinner and I basically got thrown out of the hall."

"My intentions were for you to search for me. I had already prepared dinner."

Sarah frowned. This was the stupidest thing she had ever heard. "What kind of logic is that? You could've just asked me!"

"Now where's the fun in that?"

She groaned. "But why did you want me to join you for dinner? I mean, we probably would've only fought anyway…"

He shrugged. "It doesn't happen often that I have someone to properly converse with over dinner."

"You call quarrelling _'proper conversing'_?"

He grinned. "In a way. It's remarkable how honest people are with you when they are angry."

"You do like to emotionally mess with people's mind, don't you?"

"I wouldn't say it like that. Do you want to continue this discussion over dinner?"

Sarah nodded. She was still secretly worried that all of this was moving at a far too quick pace.

"Yeah...okay." Then she suddenly remembered something important: "Wait!"

Jareth arched an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Does this mean we have a truce?" Sarah asked, just to be sure.

He clicked his tongue in dislike. "Truce…that sounds like we were at war with each other."

"Well, we sort of were, weren't we? With all the quarrelling?"

"Then you must not understand the term _'war'_ very well. It is not a word to be used lightly."

"You're scolding me like I am stupid," Sarah complained bitterly.

"I did not intend to 'scold' you, Sarah," he said serious "I am merely pointing out that you should be more careful about your choice of words. Especially in the Underground."

She crossed her arms. "And that's okay with me but please pay a little more attention to your tone of voice the next time, because to me it felt like you were trying to make me feel dumb."

"I can assure you that was not my intention. Forgive me for having offended you."

Sarah was dumbstruck at him apologising directly to her. This was new. She nodded slowly. "Okay, I forgive you."

"Very well and yes, if you insist on calling it a truce. Let us call it a truce. Could we now please go on and dine?" Jareth asked impatiently.

She chuckled. "And here I thought I was the hungry one."

He held his hand out to her. Sarah eyed it puzzled and he explained:

"I will get us there within a second."

"Where do you want to go?"

His lips curled to a wry grin. _"I considered the dining room."_

* * *

Sarah could've hit herself against the head. Good job Sarah. Where do people dine usually? OF COURSE THE DINING ROOM. She took his hand.

"That is unless you're hungry in a different way, precious?" he teased her in a smoky voice that made her blush instantaneously.

"H-How am I supposed to understand that?" she stuttered warily.

 _'Oh no, oh no, oh no please don't say such crap, Jareth. Please'_

"I think you already understand it quite well given the crimson colour on your cheeks."

Sarah had to calm herself internally before saying: "Jareth, that truce does not include us going to your bedroom and doing it!"

"With _'it'_ I believe you mean having _sex_?"

She wanted to bury herself. There had to be a shovel in this garden somewhere.

"What the hell is wrong with you? We've just reached a basic level of understanding and you're already talking about getting involved in a sexual relationship?!"

"How do humans call it? _'Friends with benefits'_?" he joked but Sarah didn't get the joke.

She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. Angrily, she let go off his hand. "Just for the record: this is not going to happen! We are neither going to have a sexual nor a romantic relationship. The only thing we can hope to achieve is a friendship at this point and that's it."

" _Yet_ ," he corrected her teasingly.

Sarah groaned and rolled her eyes. _So that was why all of this had worked so smoothly._

"Really, it's embarrassing enough that we even have to discuss this but it seems it was important that we did."

She may found him attractive and all that but that didn't mean she was going to jump his bones at the first given opportunity. It had been mistake enough to give in to that dream-Jareth this morning.

Romanticising about Jareth in her mind was one thing but Sarah knew, from a logical perspective, that it was not wise to make it become a reality.

She didn't even really know him and she sure as hell wasn't going to get involved with him in a romantic relationship as long as she was his prisoner. Her freedom was far more important to her than his tight pants could ever be. Heck, she wasn't Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Jareth grinned about something he wouldn't share with her and held out his hand to her once again. "Could we, now that this is solved, please finally dine?"

Sarah hesitated to take his hand this time. "Is it really solved, though?"

He frowned. "If you insist on me being clear on the subject: **you've lost my love a long time ago and I'm not interested in you romantically, anymore** ," Jareth said sternly.

Even though, while this had been exactly what she had wanted to hear, it also was the answer she hadn't wanted to hear. It somewhat hurt her and crushed something inside of her that she didn't know existed until now.

"Oh," was all she could mumble. She didn't want him to take notice of her hurt so she quickly took his hand and whispered: "Let's go dine, then," in the most manageable nonchalant way.

"Close your eyes," he ordered her to do and she did. Cold wind brusedh through her dark brown hair and when she opened her eyes again, at his command, Sarah found that their surroundings had disappeared and that she was instead now in a grand dining hall. Before her stood a long dining table filled with large amounts of food.

But that wasn't what luckily distracted her from the hurt in her chest. The room's architecture was mind-blowing to her.

Jareth noticed her marvelling expression. "Do you like it here?"

Sarah nodded. "You know," she said sheepishly, hoping her following estimation wasn't too wrong "it looks like Baroque with influences of Gothic architecture to me."

She let go of his hand and walked over to the large fireplace at the end of the room; carefully stroking over the carved flowers.

"The details are astonishing," she gasped.

"You seem to be fairly educated on this subject," Jareth noted pleasantly surprised and leaned onto the top rails of one of the chairs at the richly laid table.

"Only a little. I read some books regarding architecture a while ago out of sheer curiosity if the profession might be something for me. Do you know what sort of wood was used for the furnishing?"

"No," he said, incapable of taking his eyes from her. He had always found this room, despite its size, to be quite dull and suffocating. And suddenly, with a simple few words, she had made him realise that it truly was a piece of art.

"I never really paid much attention to it. The castle already existed when I came here."

"When you came here? Does that mean another king used to live here?" Sarah asked; curiosity glowing in her green eyes.

Jareth had no interest in letting their conversation take this route. "We should eat."

"Where should I sit?" The table was so long that as many as thirty people easily could have found a seat.

The Goblin King sat down at the end of the table and pointed at the chair to his right. "Sit here."

"Do you have guests here often?" Sarah asked once she finally sat.

He folded his hands under his chin, supporting his elbows on the table and looked at her wondering.

"You're very talkative, I noticed."

"Does it bother you?"

"Not at all."

There was a vast amount of various fruits on bronze plates, delicious-looking coarse bread, a soup bowl that gave off an appetizing smell and small cakes that reminded Sarah of her stepmother's homemade brownies. While filling her plate, she asked:

"Tell me about your interests," Sarah said.

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm interested in getting to know you better?"

Jareth put some cheese, bread and grapes on his plate. Sarah thought he'd ignore her question but after he had swallowed a bite from the bread he finally answered:

"Singing. I like singing. And sometimes I enjoy reading, that is if the story is good."

"What do you like to read?"

"I don't have a preferred genre."

Sarah nodded and finally began to fill her starving stomach. Jareth wordlessly took her glass and his own and filled it with white wine. Admittedly the only good thing about the Underground was that she could drink alcohol here without worrying that she'd get in trouble for it.

"What about you, Sarah? What are your interests?" he asked, drinking from his wine and watching her with burning curiosity. "I do remember you enjoying acting."

The word _'acting'_ unsettled her. "Ahem, yes. But I don't like it anymore."

He leaned back. Judging from the expression on his face, he didn't believe her one bit. "How come?"

"Long story." She drank from the wine and found it very delicious. It tasted sweet and fruity.

"We have time."

"That actually translates to: I don't want to talk about it now," Sarah explained.

"Why not?"

She took another sip from the wine. "Because I don't want to. End of debate."

He didn't look too pleased with her not wanting to answer his question. "Something quite upsetting must have happened to cause such a powerful reluctance towards it in you."

Sarah grimaced. "I said I don't want to talk about it. Can you please accept that and stop pushing me?"

Finally Jareth respected her wish but she noticed the dangerous glimmer in his eyes and knew that he wouldn't forget about this and ask her another time for sure.

"Then tell me about your other interests," he sighed.

"I'm interested in literature, art and I enjoy watching good movies," she answered quickly, still a little sore about his earlier pushiness and took a sip from the wine.

He looked disappointed. "That sounds very boring, Sarah."

"What?" she frowned "Why? Your hobbies weren't any better."

"If I may say so –"

"You may not."

"If I may say so _anyway_ , even though you obviously don't want me to, I supposed your answer would be something similar to _'travelling, going on adventures, complaining how unfair the world is to you and, of course, my favourite: **wishing children away** '_"

It was obviously meant as a joke but Sarah's face darkened at the last part.

She had suffered enough over the years from guilt feelings about her stupid mistake back then and even though she had met her friends on the way to fix said mistake, she highly regretted ever having been that cruel to Toby.

Toby, who loved and admired her so much, even for her faults. Just the thought of him amost made her tear up. She missed her brother so much.

"I think this is the moment where I leave the table before we break into another fight," she said prickly and hurt and stood up from the chair. Jareth laughed. He nonchalantly took another sip from his wine glass, not having a care in the world.

"What is so funny?"

"For someone, who managed to defeat me and my Labyrinth with her unfaltering willpower, you do an awful lot of running away from conflicts instead of facing them nowadays."

Her voice was dangerously low as she said: "Don't pretend like you know me, Goblin King. Because I assure you, you don't."

"No," he said calmly. His eyes saddened for the break of a second. _"I don't anymore."_


	7. Chapter 6

Sarah shook her head, her eyes fixated on the crackling fire in the fireplace. There was an unfathomable sadness and anger in them that conjured up unpleasant memories in Jareth's mind. Memories he would never share with her by his own choice.

The silence that stretched between them was neither unpleasant nor the opposite but Sarah silently cursed herself for not having a suitable, witty response to his words.

" _Great_. Just great," she finally spat out with as much sarcasm as humanly possible. She turned her gaze back to him and gave vent to her emotions.

"Listen, have you ever considered just the possibility that maybe you're the problem here and not me?"

Jareth arched an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair with intertwined fingers. "Do share your thoughts with me, Sarah. I'm always open for criticism."

Sarah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Liar," she scoffed.

He grinned, not evening denying.

"If you say stupid stuff like this, how do you _think_ I'll react? Sit there and laugh with you as if wishing my brother away back then was funny? Do you honestly believe I'm unable to see your real intentions behind such actions?"

"And _what_ do you presume _are_ my real intentions?" Jareth snarled, his expression visibly darkening.

Sarah couldn't have cared any less. It felt extremely good to release these words from her chest. A mix of adrenaline and superiority rushed through her veins, just like it had during their final exchange of words in the Labyrinth adventure.

"It was your intention to hurt me, to anger me with those words so that I would react how you wanted me to react.

Well, hear this, Jareth: if you want to further play games like this – you can play them alone because unless you change this hurtful, provocative attitude towards me and try to continue your mind games, I have no intention to talk with you anymore and the _'truce deal'_ is off.

I'm not a puppet you can control and manipulate at your will and amusement and I won't let you treat me like this."

She was beyond proud of herself after finishing. With each sentence, Sarah's voice had grown more powerful until her energy filled the entire room.

Jareth's lip stretched into a thin line but the anger on his face had vanished throughout her speech into something that Sarah thought was almost woe. Whatever ghosted through his mind now, it visibly exhausted him.

Sarah mentally prepared herself for another fight. Who knew what hurtful things Jareth would throw back at her now?

His reply shook the very foundations of her image of him.

"You're right. That was wrong of me to do."

Sarah thought she misheard him the first time. "W-What?"

"Don't make me repeat it, Sarah."

"But…you're not disagreeing with me?" This seemed very surreal to her.

Jareth lifted an eyebrow. "Do you _want_ me to disagree with you, Sarah?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just strange but not in a…," she looked at him and smiled hopeful, "not in a bad way."

Maybe they were really starting to understand and learn from each other. The thought made her happy.

A minute of silence passed, then the Goblin King suddenly rose from his seat. "Good. Now you will have to excuse me, I have some business to attend."

"Business?" She couldn't hide the curiosity in her voice. "What business?"

He clicked his tongue in a teasing manner but Sarah noticed the tiredness of his eyes. "Curiosity killed the cat, Sarah."

"But satisfaction brought it back." She winked at him, still cheery about how the argument between them had ended.

Jareth sighed. "Always the last word. I will send Plum, so she can show you to your room."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just get me there by magic?"

"It would," he agreed with a wry grin. "But I think you should eat and drink some more before resting. You got work to do tomorrow. And I have no time to stay until you've finished."

Sarah groaned loudly at the thought of work and turned away from him but didn't reply.

 _"Good night, Sarah."_

When she looked back, he had disappeared and instead, from the corner of her eyes, she spotted a white barn owl disappearing out of one the now opened windows. Sarah quickly ran after it and watched it fly away into the nightly sky.

She shook her head.

"This guy…" A sigh escaped her lips. Maybe someday, they really could be friends.

* * *

The next days passed rather too quickly for her taste. Sarah felt like she had no time at all for anything aside of the work in the castle, dining and sleeping.

She wanted to explore her new (temporary) home, the city and maybe even make a slight detour into the Labyrinth to start the search for her friends. There had to be some way to get a day or two off.

But Jareth was nowhere to be found. Since he left after their conversation, no one had seen him.

Being alone in the castle with the goblins had, at first, been rather strange but eventually they finally warmed up to Sarah and even invited her to join them for dinner (even though that turned out to be one hell of a mess). It seemed like things were starting to get better but Sarah reminded herself with every passing day that she had to get back home. The way back would be difficult to find but she'd find it.

"He'll show up eventually," Plum said as they sat in the kitchen and peeled potatoes together. She had caught Sarah staring absent-mindedly out of the window again. "He always does that, disappear for a few days."

Sarah realised that Plum was talking about Jareth. "Where does he go?"

Plum shrugged. "I don't care. I got my work to do and the king his. Sometimes it's better not to know what appertains to his duties."

"Well," she suddenly heard the goblin Zinder, who worked as one of the cooks, say:

"some think that the king goes to a place between the Underground and the Aboveground. A place where time and space do not exist."

"What?" Sarah's eyes widened. "He can do that?"

Plum scoffed. "Quit feeding the girl's mind with such nonsense, Zinder!"

Zinder was a big goblin, who almost reached to Sarah's torso, with no hair and sharp teeth. He grimaced at Plum's words and pointed his finger at her.

"Jus' cause you don't care about what the king does, doesn't mean everyone does!"

"Point that finger at me again and I'll make sure to cut it off like your mother's toes before she ended up in the bog!" Plum threatened heatedly with narrowed eyes and showed him the knife in her hand.

Zinder chuckled but he was obviously intimidated by the small, angry goblin woman. "Alright, alright. Let's cut the rubbish now."

"So you agree that I should cut your finger?" Plum grinned. "Well, then come here!"

Sarah had to bit on her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing at Zinder's shocked face.

"Stupid Plum!" he cursed loudly and ran out of the kitchen so fast that the knife she threw after him didn't reach him. Now that he was gone, they were alone in the kitchen. The rest of the goblins were already on the way to their own dining hall.

Plum muttered words under her breath in a language Sarah couldn't understand but from the way she said them, she assumed that the goblin was cursing heavily.

"What language are you talking in?" Sarah inquired her with curiosity.

"Sylyan," Plum replied casually and got up to get a new knife. "Language of the goblins."

Sarah gave her a confused look. "But if it's the language of the goblins, how come you're the first one I hear it speak?"

"It's an old language," Plum mumbled but Sarah speculated that there was a lot more to this than that.

Plum returned to the chair, which was far too big for her and gave her slight trouble getting up again. Sarah had once offered her help to get up and got a death glare in return. Plum didn't like receiving help from others at all.

When the goblin had managed to get back up the chair and began peeling potatoes again, she explained in a quiet, soft voice: "My mother taught me."

Sarah looked up from her potato. "Does she live in the Goblin City?"

"No..." Plum got even more quiet. "She's not alive anymore."

"Plum, I'm-… I'm sorry." Sarah didn't know what else to say. She felt great compassion for the goblin woman and wanted to hug her but she had learned over the last few days that Plum didn't like such endearments and respected that.

"Anyway," Plum continued in her normal tone after taking a sharp breath, "the other goblins don't speak Sylyan. I have yet to find another goblin in the city, who speaks it."

Her tone made it very clear that she would not answer further questions and Sarah accepted that. At least for now. She definitely would ask Jareth about it upon his return.

They continued their work in silence.

* * *

It was after lunch that Plum surprised Sarah by saying: "Take the rest of the day off and go do your explorer-thing, you've been wanting to do."

"R-Really? Are you serious?" She looked at the goblin with widened eyes in sheer disbelief.

Plum grumbled. "I don't have to repeat myself, do I now?"

Sarah shook her head. "Definitely not."

That was great! She could go back into the Labyrinth, search for her friends and-

"Just in case that you're trying to run off or do anything else stupid," Plum whistled loudly and all the goblins that were still in the dining hall, turned around to look at her, "I'll have someone accompany you."

Sarah bit back a groan.

"Someone of you slimy no-goods will guard the human for the rest of the day. Now who wants to volunteer?" Plum called into the crowd.

"Does that mean no work except guarding the girl?" one goblin asked.

Plum rolled her eyes. "Yes."

Now dozens of hands were raised.

 **"TAKE ME, TAKE ME!"** all of them screamed. The smaller ones tried to climb on the bigger goblins to gain Plum's attention and the big ones jumped up and down to do that. One even ripped his clothes off.

"I'm definitely in the wrong movie," Sarah mumbled.

"I deserve a raise for all this," Plum groaned and rubbed her temples.

From the corner of her eyes, she noticed someone at the table, who was still calmly eating and ignored the noise the goblins were making.

"YOU THERE!" Plum pointed at him.

It was Timble, the troll Sarah had met the other day. Timble didn't react.

"What was his name...uh Rimble...No...Timble!" Sarah called out to gain his attention but he still didn't look in their direction.

"His name is Timble?" Plum raised an eyebrow. "What'cha learn…Hey troll!"

Finally he looked up and around to search. Then he saw Plum.

"Are you talking to me?" he asked, just to make sure.

When the goblins still made loud noises to volunteer for the position of Sarah's guard, Plum flew into a towering rage.

 **"IF YOU'RE NOT QUIET AT ONCE I SWEAR I WILL THROW YOU ALL INTO THE BOG!"**

The room fell into absolute silence and most of the goblins ran out of the hall just to make sure Plum wouldn't make her threat a reality. Sometimes Sarah assumed that she once really did throw someone into the bog and that's why everyone feared her so much.

When Timble saw Sarah, he swallowed hard and immediately turned his focus back to his food. He hadn't forgotten their first encounter.

"Timble," Plum said in a much calmer voice now, "you'll be Sarah's guard for the rest of the evening. Make sure she doesn't go into the Labyrinth and do anything stupid."

Timble shook his head, spoon in mouth. "Nah, I'm having other duties and don't -"

Next thing that happened was that both Timble and Sarah got kicked out of the hall. Plum definitely had enough of people opposing her orders.

"IF I SEE YOU TWO BEFORE SUNDOWN, I'LL THROW YOU ALL, WITH THE OTHERS, INTO THE BOG!"

She slammed the door shut behind her and Sarah could still hear the curses from inside the hall. Timble adjusted his clothes and whistled approving.

"My, what a temper!"

"Yes, she isn't always like this she's actually very -"

"A delicate creature with an iron fist. Beautiful! I could write a poem about her! No, a sonnet!"

Sarah chuckled and imagined Plum's face. "Bet she'd love that," she muttered under her breath.

"Now, I shouldn't talk to you but if the lady has ordered me, I'm afraid there's nothing a fragile heart like mine can do to protest," Timble exclaimed. "Where do you want to go, human?"

"Well," Sarah thought about it for a moment. "We could go to the Goblin City first and then explore the castle. Do you know your way around here?"

"I could find my way blindfolded!"

"Perfect," Sarah said with an enthusiastic smile. _"Then let's go."_

* * *

A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than the others. I really needed time to get back into the story and I think I now finally have found a good idea on how to continue. I made some slight changes in the last chapters and tried to correct as many mistakes as possible. For example: The friends name of Sarah's mother isn't Jared anymore - it's Jeremy now.

Reviews are always appreciated (because I try to improve english writing and would love to know what you think! c: )

I'll be making some sketches later for the story, in case you're interested - you can find me Flowermochi on Deviantart.

Have a lovely Thursday and I'll see you at the next chapter.


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